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Essential  Points  GoTeminf 

the  Financial  Value  of  an 

Engineering  Property 


By   5CHUYLER  R,  SCHAFF,  C.  E. 


Essential  Points  Govern- 
ing the  Financial  Value  of 
an  Engineering  Property. 


An  attempt  to  explain  the  influence  of 
the  engineer  on  the  financial  success 
of  any  of  the  following  subjects,  and 
written  with  the  intention  of  making 
the  relations  of  the  engineer  to  the 
general  public  more  definitely  understood. 


By 
SCHUYLER  R.  SCHAFF,  C.  E. 


NEW  YORK 

Printed  by  The  Richardson  Press 
1912 


Copies  of  this  book  can  be  obtained  of 

SCHUYLBR    R.  SCHAFF,  C.  E. 

5  Beckman  Street 
New  York 

Price,  £1.00 


-.  «•  «*  *'     •' 

»  *          *'*   *•  *;'  >,  r  ] 

t        r  t,     f*      < .     i  ,  . 


Copyright  1912,  by  Schuyler  R.  Schaif ,  NewJYork 


Classes  of  Properties  Considered 

Page 
Water  Supply 1 1 

Railroads 19 

Hydraulic  Power  Systems 29 

Drainage  of  Lands  Partly  Inundated 41 

Irrigation 53 

Bridges  and  Viaducts 63 

Miscellaneous  Structures 75 


247070 


Introductory 

THE  first  point  to  be  made  clear  is  to 
define  the  term  "Engineering  Prop- 
erty."   By  this  is  usually  meant  a 
large  class  of  industrial  properties 
that  would  require  the  services  of  an  engineer 
in  estimating  their  cost  and  in  designing  their 
arrangement.  That  would  include  water  works, 
railroads,  gas  and  electric  light  plants,  water 
power  companies,  and  projects  of  that  kind. 

It  is  evident  that  the  first  question  which 
would  naturally  arise  concerning  an  engineer- 
ing property,  is  whether  it  will  return  a  satis- 
factory income  on  the  investment,  as  well  as 
whether  the  original  capital  is  there  to  stay 
or  will  eventually  deteriorate  in  value.  To  de- 
termine this  it  is  necessary  to  go  through  a 
certain  line  of  reasoning  and  to  make  the 
proper  deductions  from  that  reasoning.  The 
purpose  of  this  book  is  not  to  go  into  any 
specific  property,  but  is  to  show  the  line  of 
reasoning  to  be  used  in  each  class  of  property 
in  such  a  way  that  it  can  be  understood  by  any 
one  that  is  not  an  engineer  and  to  be  of  assist- 
ance to  him  if  he  may  be  connected  in  any 
one  of  the  following  projects.  It  is  not  in- 

5 


INTRODUCTORY 


tended  to  be  a  technical  work  in  the  sense  that 
it  is  instructive  to  engineers  in  their  profes- 
sional capacity.  Instead  it  is  intended  to  make 
clear  the  financial  side  of  the  subjects  taken 
up,  and  to  show  the  professional  duties  of  an 
engineer  which  would  have  an  influence  on  it. 
It  may  seem  as  though  few  people  would  be 
interested  in  the  properties  mentioned  below, 
but  it  is  the  purpose  of  this  book  to  show 
conclusively  that  practically  any  one  who  is 
interested  actively  in  business  can  find  some- 
thing of  value  in  studying  out  these  problems. 
A  promoter  would  want  to  know  the  cost  of  a 
property  as  well  as  have  a  fair  idea  based  on 
the  records  of  similar  work,  or  what  the  prop- 
erty in  question  is  going  to  return  to  him  finan- 
cially. Similarly,  an  investor  would  not  only 
be  interested  in  the  probable  income,  but  would 
want  to  find  out  whether  the  bonds  or  stocks 
issued  against  the  property  under  his  consid- 
eration are  backed  by  actual  values  of  con- 
struction. The  owner  of  any  manufacturing 
plant  is  naturally  interested  in  whether  he  will 
be  able  to  cut  down  his  expenses  by  adding 
equipment,  such  as  conveying  machinery,  and 
the  various  kinds  of  loading  and  unloading  de- 
vices. To  the  public  at  large,  the  value  of  a 
property  as  determined  by  an  engineer  is  im- 
portant in  the  fact  that  when  municipal  im- 


If 


INTRODUCTORY 


provements  are  considered,  such  as  water 
power  and  the  like,  he  practically  pays  through 
his  taxes  and  assessments  for  the  cost  of  this 
work,  and  any  economy  would  be  for  his 
benefit. 

,  An  investigation  to  ascertain  the  first  cost 
of  an  engineering  project  or  to  investigate  the 
probable  earnings  would  naturally  apply  to  a 
small  property  as  well  as  to  a  large  one, 
and  it  is  pertinent  to  say  that  no  property,  how- 
ever small,  should  be  carried  out  without  the 
assistance  of  a  member  of  the  engineering  pro- 
fession. The  tremendous  scope  covered  by  it 
makes  it  impossible  for  any  one  to  cover  the 
whole  class  of  subjects  covered  by  the  profes- 
sion, and  requires  him  to  specialize  along  cer- 
tain lines  which  he  may  consider  most  interest- 
ing. This  book,  therefore,  does  not  attempt  to 
cover  all  branches  of  engineering.  Some  of 
which  that  are  not  included  would  be  natural 
and  artificial  gas  projects,  roads  and  pave- 
ments, drainage  systems  for  waste  matter, 
canals,  and  problems  dealing  with  the  efficiency 
of  management  of  industrial  system.  *  The 
class  of  properties  considered  here  makes  it 
necessary  to  take  up  surveying,  tunneling  and 
electric  lighting,  but  only  in  their  relation  to 
the  subjects  as  given  and  not  as  a  separate  and 

7 


INTRODUCTORY 

distinct  class  of  work  as  undertaken  by  some 
engineers. 

In  taking  up  the  methods  by  which  the 
financial  value  can  be  reached,  it  will  be  neces- 
sary to  consider  separately  each  class  of  prop- 
erty which  this  book  will  cover.  This  is  due 
to  the  fact  that  not  only  will  the  parties  in- 
terested be  of  different  class,  but  the  methods 
by  which  the  value  would  be  reached  would  be 
treated  in  a  different  manner  and  the  results 
obtained  would  be  considered  from  a  different 
standpoint  in  each  case. 

One  thing  is  in  common  in  all  of  the  follow- 
ing subjects.  It  is  necessary  for  every  engi- 
neer to  fulfil  through  himself  or  his  staff  the 
duties  of  inspector.  It  is  obvious  that  he  must 
see  that  his  designs  are  carried  out  according 
to  his  ideas,  and  that  all  his  specifications  are 
lived  up  to.  In  the  subjects  following,  his 
specifications  in  regard  to  the  quality  of  any 
tnaterials  which  are  to  be  used,  are  of  the 
greatest  importance.  Through  his  knowledge 
of  the  physical  properties  of  steel,  concrete  and 
earth,  he  can  obtain  the  most  economical  re- 
sults possible  and  yet  insure  absolute  safety. 
The  time  to  be  allowed  for  any  contract,  and 
the  manner  in  which  it  should  be  done,  would 
also  be  embodied  in  any  specifications.  By  re- 
stricting any  builder  to  a  specified  method  of 


INTRODUCTORY 

erection  he  may  ensure  the  completion  of  a 
contract  on  time,  and  do  so  before  any  con- 
tract has  been  consummated. 

Any  deductions  in  regard  to  the  cost  and 
future  success  of  any  of  these  enterprises 
would  be  obtained  by  comparing  the  results 
of  properties  similar  to  the  one  under  consid- 
eration, taking  into  account  any  features  which 
may  differ.  It  follows  then  that  the  investi- 
gation of  every  property  is  a  separate  problem 
by  itself  with  its  deductions  based  on  previous 
experience.  It  must  be  born  in  mind  that  the 
subjects  taken  up  in  the  following  chapters 
can  be  considered  among  the  most  conservative 
investments  because  of  the  fact  that  they  have 
an  actual  property  value  behind  them.  This 
property  and  the  usual  franchises  and  rights 
that  permit  their  operation,  as  obtained  by  the 
following  methods  of  reasoning,  guarantee 
their  fundamental  or  capital  value. 


Water  Supply 

A*~Y  community  that  is  considering  a 
water  works  system  should  take  up 
first  the  question  as  to  whether  there 
is  sufficient  population  within  reach 
to  warrant  the  necessary  outlay.  This  is  de- 
termined by  taking  a  certain  number  of  gal- 
lons per  person  as  the  probable  supply  re- 
quired, making  an  allowance  for  future  growth 
as  determined  by  previous  records  which  may 
be  in  possession  of  the  census  authorities.  The 
next  step  is  to  have  an  estimate  made  of  the 
first  cost  of  this  work  and  the  amount  neces- 
sary for  maintenance.  It  is  then  possible  to  ar- 
rive at  a  definite  conclusion  as  to  its  financial 
success  by  comparing  the  interest  on  first  cost 
plus  the  maintenance,  with  the  probable  earn- 
ings. 

The  first  cost  may  appear  large  but  it  must 
be  remembered  that  in  any  system  of  this 
kind  a  continuous  supply  of  water  must  be 
guaranteed,  and  the  safety  of  any  dams 
must  be  beyond  question.  To  illustrate  this 
point  it  is  only  necessary  to  call  attention  to 
the  floods  caused  by  broken  dams  and  to  the 
heavy  fire  loss  due  to  interruption  of  water 


WATER   SUPPLY 

service.  The  first  cost  would  seem  to  be  in- 
creased by  the  fact  that  in  order  to  insure 
this  continuous  supply  it  is  necessary  to  have 
practically  two  complete  plants,  or  to  be  more 
exact,  two  complete  sets  of  everything  liable 
to  failure  or  requiring  cleaning.  This  includes 
of  course,  pumps,  reservoirs  and  pipe  lines. 
The  maintenance  cost  would  vary  considerably 
with  the  kind  of  system  used,  whether  gravity 
or  forced. 

The  gravity  system  should  be  used  in  every 
case  in  which  the  natural  facilities  are  at  hand. 
It  will  consist  of  a  reservoir  to  catch  and  hold 
until  used,  the  natural  rain  fall  of  the  district, 
and  the  necessary  pipe  systems  to  connect  the 
reservoir  with  the  consumer.  In  order  to  use 
this  system,  however,  it  is  necessary  to  have 
high  ground  within  reach  of  the  community  in 
question.  This  high  area  must  be  large  enough 
to  gather  a  plentiful  supply,  and  high  enough 
so  that  water  will  flow  from  it  by  gravity  into 
the  top  stories  of  the  tallest  buildings  in  the 
community  below.  This  gravity  system  will  be 
the  least  expensive  to  maintain,  and  when 
properly  designed  will  be  the  most  reliable. 

The  forced  system  is  not  all  that  could  be 
desired,  but  is  necessary  in  a  great  many  cases 
on  account  of  the  fact  that  the  community  in 
question  may  be  on  higher  ground  than  the 


WATER   SUPPLY 

surrounding  country.  In  the  forced  system  it 
is  usual  to  drive  wells  and  pump  the  supply 
directly  from  the  wells  into  a  reservoir,  usually 
in  the  form  of  a  steel  stand  pipe  which  acts 
not  only  as  a  reservoir,  but  as  a  governor  to 
steady  the  water  pressure.  In  this  system  it  is 
absolutely  essential  to  have  two  complete  sets 
of  pumps.  They  must  be  of  a  make  both 
reliable  and  noted  for  their  long  continued 
action. 

The  geological  nature  of  the  land  in  which 
any  proposed  system  of  wells  is  to  be  driven 
is  of  the  greatest  importance  and  would  be 
gone  into  by  the  engineer  investigating  a  forced 
system  of  this  kind.  It  does  not  always  follow 
that  the  underground  drainage  will  flow  in  the 
same  direction  as  the  surface  drainage.  The 
study  of  the  geological  formation  of  the  strata 
underground  will  show  the  general  inclination 
of  these  various  strata  and  the  probable  area 
drained  by  them.  It  has  the  further  advantage 
of  showing  whether  the  supply  of  water  to  be 
drawn  off  would  come  from  a  direction  in 
which  contamination  may  be  expected*  due  to 
the  presence  of  a  drainage  system  of  a  nearby 
community. 

One  of  the  oldest  forms  of  pumps  which  can 
be  considered  in  a  class  by  itself  as  it  is  entirely 
automatic,  is  a  hydraulic  water  ram.  Under 


WATER   SUPPLY 

proper  conditions  it  would  be  considered  as 
good  a  as  gravity  system. 

The  action  of  a  ram  can  force  a  small  pro- 
portion of  the  total  amount  of  water  obtained 
to  a  considerable  height  above  the  source  of 
supply  and  do  so  entirely  by  automatic  action. 
This  system,  however,  can  seldom  be  made  on 
a  large  enough  scale  to  be  of  use  to  any  consid- 
erable community.  It  is  most  important  in  the 
water  supply  of  small  villages  and  to  the 
owner  of  large  industrial  plants,  and  as  such 
can  be  considered  a  profitable  investment. 

It  often  happens  in  water  supply  problems 
that  the  water  in  question  will  hold  in  sus- 
pension a  considerable  amount  of  earthy  mat- 
ter which  will  be  in  such  fine  particles  that  it 
will  not  settle  to  the  bottom  while  in  a  reser- 
voir. It  must  be  understood  that  this  sedi- 
ment in  no  way  impairs  the  value  of  it  for 
drinking  purposes  if  it  can  be  filtered  out.  This 
is  done  by  the  construction  of  filter  beds. 

The  latest  type  of  filter  bed  is  made  of  re- 
inforced concrete.  It  consists  of  a  reservoir 
divided  into  several  compartments  that  can  be 
separately  operated.  Along  the  bottom  of 
these  reservoirs  are  placed  a  number  of  cov- 
ered drains  on  the  top  of  which  is  placed  first 
a  coarse  grade  of  sand,  and  then  finer  grades. 
The  action  of  these  filters  is  obtained  by  run- 
14 


WATER    SUPPLY 

ning  water  in  at  the  top  allowing  it  to  perco- 
late slowly  through  the  sand,  finally  to  be 
taken  up  by  the  drains  and  carried  away 
in  a  clear  state.  The  use  of  alum  placed  in  so- 
lution in  the  unfiltered  water  has  been  found 
to  assist  this  operation  materially. 

The  sand,  of  course,  collects  all  the  sedi- 
ment that  was  previously  held  in  suspension 
and  will  become  useless  in  a  short  time.  At 
stated  periods  the  top  layer  of  sand  must  be 
removed,  washed,  and  then  replaced.  This  op- 
eration makes  it  necessary  to  have  filter  beds 
divided  into  separate  compartments  and  ad- 
ditional filtration  surface  to  make  up  for  this 
cleaning. 

When  properly  proportioned  by  the  engineer 
in  charge  this  method  of  getting  rid  of  the 
matter  held  in  suspension,  is  very  efficient  and 
the  result  will  be  a  clear  water.  Filter  beds 
will  increase  the  first  cost  as  well  as  the  cost 
of  maintenance  of  any  system  but  will  not 
necessarily  bring  these  two  costs  high  enough 
to  make  the  financial  outcome  at  all  doubtful. 

The  most  important  duty  of  an  engineer  is  in 
the  selection  of  the  kind  of  system  to  be  used 
and  in  the  proper  designing  of  it.  He  would 
make  use  of  every  natural  advantage  found 
within  the  vicinity  in  which  this  system  may 
happen  to  be.  He  should  be  assisted  by  the 


WATER   SUPPLY 

proper  authorities  in  obtaining  the  necessary 
information  as  to  population  and  data  of  a 
geological  nature.  The  value  of  an  engineer 
in  determining  the  correct  methods  to  be  used 
in  any  system,  can  not  be  over  estimated. 

From  the  standpoint  of  the  taxpayer  it  is 
not  only  a  matter  of  economy  but  one  of  purity 
of  water,  safety  and  continuance  of  operation, 
and  it  is  for  him  to  realize  that  in  any  water 
system  the  strictest  economy  seldom  proves  the 
wisest  course  in  the  end.  It  is  of  interest  to 
him  as  a  probable  consumer  to  see  that  the 
engineer  in  charge  has  had  chemical  tests  made 
on  the  water  to  be  used  and  that  the  result  of 
those  tests  will  give  a  soft  water  free  from  all 
injurious  bacteria.  It  is  of  extreme  import- 
ance to  him  to  know  that  the  derivation  of 
this  supply  is  away  from  the  influence  of  the 
drainage  system  of  nearby  cities.  Further,  it 
is  well  for  him  to  see  that  laws  are  enacted 
and  what  is  more  important,  to  see  that  they 
are  enforced,  which  will  prohibit  any  one  from 
tampering  with  the  reservoirs  of  the  proposed 
system. 

The  investor,  however,  must  necessarily 
look  at  any  water  proposition  from  the  stand- 
point of  an  investment  and  not  as  a  consumer. 
To  this  end  he  must  know  whether  he  will  re- 
ceive a  reasonable  income  and  be  sure  that  his 

16 


WATER   SUPPLY 

capital  will  not  deteriorate.  In  regard  to  the 
deterioration  of  property,  it  can  be  said,  that 
water  supply  companies  are  considered  as  be- 
ing the  most  lasting  of  any  class  of  securities. 

It  is  obvious  that  water  is  not  a  luxury.  It 
must  be  used  every  day  whether  in  times  of 
panic  or  not,  and  if  once  installed  can  be 
counted  on  as  being  permanent.  In  regard  to  the 
deterioriation  of  this  class  of  property,  it  is 
well  to  note  that  it  is  less  than  almost  anything 
else,  and  can  insure  the  investor  that  whatever 
was  put  into  the  property  can  be  gotten  out  in 
the  end,  provided  a  small  allowance  has  been 
made  for  renewals  and  maintenance.  It  is 
well  to  say  here  that  gravity  systems  in  par- 
ticular do  not  require  many  renewals. 

In  relation  to  the  cost  of  maintenance  it 
can  be  said  that  it  is  usually  a  steady  amount 
which  can  be  counted  on  many  years  in  the  fu- 
ture, and  that  any  fluctuation  which  may  arise 
is  generally  due  to  future  extensions  which 
would  be  considered  as  a  separate  investment. 
It  is  pertinent  to  say  that  here  again  the  grav- 
ity system  is  superior  in  economy  over  its 
alternative,  the  forced  system  which  requires 
pumping.  To  arrive  at  a  definite  basis  on 
which  to  base  any  calculations  as  to  whether 
a  water  supply  property  is  a  good  investment, 
it  is  best  to  find  out  definitely  if  the  proper 


WATER   SUPPLY 

authorities  have  authorized  the  financial  end 
of  it.  After  that,  the  fact  that  the  bonds  rep- 
resent actual  value  can  be  ascertained  through 
an  engineer  who  can  place  the  value  on  the 
property. 

The  cost  of  maintenance  and  operation  can 
be  also  valuated  by  him.  Its  probable  earnings 
are  much  easier  to  estimate  upon.  Knowing 
the  population  which  the  system  in  question 
covers,  it  would  be  easy  to  derive  the  total 
amount  of  water  to  be  consumed  if  the  con- 
servative allowance  per  capita  of  eighty  gal- 
lons per  day  be  used.  This  total  quantity  of 
water,  when  reduced  by  the  usual  water  rate 
in  force  in  that  part  of  the  country,  will  give 
a  probable  income  which  is  more  certain  than 
almost  any  other  estimated  income.  As  a  class, 
water  supply  companies  will  give  to  the  in- 
vestor a  sure  income  and  an  actual  value  be- 
hind the  capital  it  represents. 


18 


Electric  and  Steam  Railroads 

IN  THIS  discussion  of  railroads  only  new 
systems  will  be  considered.  Rail- 
roads which  have  been  in  operation  for 
any  length  of  time  can  show  their  earn- 
ings and  general  ability  to  prove  their  worth 
from  previous  records.  On  the  other  hand,  a 
new  location  has  to  be  studied  as  a  separate 
problem,  and  should  be  done  by  an  engineer. 
It  should  be  emphasized  that  the  duties  of  an 
engineer  in  the  first  location  of  a  railroad  sys- 
tem, whether  it  taps  new  or  thickly  populated 
country,  is  of  the  greatest  importance.  In 
showing  the  relation  of  an  engineer  to  the  pub- 
lic, it  would  be  pertinent  to  give  some  idea  of 
what  he  can  accomplish  by  making  use  of 
every  natural  feature  which  may  come  to  his 
attention. 

In  the  first  place  the  primary  cause  for 
building  a  railroad  is  to  connect  two  important 
places.  In  general  there  are  several  different 
routes  which  will  connect  any  two  points.  The 
choice  of  the  final  route  is  usually  governed  by 
the  topographical  nature  of  the  country.  The 
topographical  features  of  a  certain  district 
might  be  explained  by  saying  that  rivers, 


RAILROADS 

mountains,  or  any  rise  or  fall  of  the  surface 
of  the  country  would  be  considered  as  a  topo- 
graphical feature.  That  is  topography  is  the 
condition  of  the  surface  as  left  by  nature. 

It  is  obvious  that  it  would  be  more  econom- 
ical to  construct  a  railroad  which  would  re- 
quire the  least  amount  of  grading  and  the  few- 
est streams  to  bridge.  The  effect  of  choice  of 
route  is  most  noticeable  when  going  through 
a  mountainous  country. 

In  locating  a  railroad  the  engineer  cannot 
always  pick  out  the  most  economical  route  be- 
cause in  so  doing  he  may  not  touch  important 
points  that  should  be  on  the  future  system.  It 
is  for  him  to  decide  whether  the  extra  cost  in 
reaching  this  point  would  be  made  up  by  the 
revenue  derived  from  it.  For  instance,  a  town 
may  be  situated  on  the  opposite  bank  of  the 
river  from  which  the  location  would  naturally 
be  laid  out  and  would,  therefore,  require  a 
bridge  to  enter  the  town  and  probably  one  to 
leave  it.  To  estimate  as  to  whether  this  would 
be  worth  while,  it  would  be  necessary  to  find 
the  cost  of  the  bridges  in  question  and  com- 
pare the  interest  on  that  cost  with  the  prob- 
able income  derived  from  it. 

It  oftens  happens  that  instead  of  a  stream 
to  encounter,  a  city  may  be  situated  so  high 
from  the  rest  of  the  line  that  it  would  require 


RAILROADS 


considerable  grades  to  reach  it.  In  this  way 
it  is  evident  that  it  is  not  always  profitable  to 
reach  every  town  on  a  line  and  that  any  sys- 
tem should  not  necessarily  be  condemned 
simply  because  it  does  not  tap  everything 
within  apparent  reach. 

The  customary  method  of  speaking  of  grades 
is  in  percentages.  That  is,  when  a  one  per 
cent,  grade  is  spoken  of  it  would  mean  a  rise 
from  the  horizontal  of  one  foot  vertically  while 
going  through  a  distance  of  one  hundred  feet. 
The  effect  of  grades  on  traffic  can  best  be 
shown  by  stating  that  an  engine  can  only  pull 
one-third  of  the  freight  up  a  one  per  cent, 
grade  that  it  can  on  a  level  track.  And  of 
course  any  increase  of  grade  will  decrease  the 
amount  of  traffic  that  can  be  carried  by  any 
one  engine. 

The  question  of  grades  has  a  very  important 
effect  on  the  future  maintenance  of  any  pro- 
posed system.  It  is  the  duty  of  a  locating 
engineer  to  strike  a  just  balance  between  the 
interest  on  the  first  cost  of  reducing  grades, 
and  the  saving  in  maintenance  due  to  this  re- 
duction. In  branch  lines,  in  which  traffic  will 
not  be  of  a  heavy  character  like  coal  or  ore, 
it  will  be  found  that  the  most  economical 
method  will  be  to  permit  heavy  grades  and 
save  on  the  first  cost. 


RAILROADS 

A  heavy  trunk  line  will  find  itself  extremely 
inconvenienced  and  its  maintenance  cost  run- 
ning too  high  if  it  is  not  laid  out  with  due  re- 
gard to  the  proper  grades  and  their  influence 
on  future  maintenance.  This  only  emphasizes 
the  fact  that  the  success  or  failure  of  a,  pro- 
posed railroad  system  is  dependent  largely  on 
the  ability  of  the  locating  engineer.  Another 
item  which  enters  strongly  into  the  mainten- 
ance cost  and  the  general  efficiency  of  any 
system  is  the  road  bed  itself.  By  that  is  meant 
the  rails,  the  ties  on  which  they  lay,  and  finally 
the  actual  ground  itself.  The  size  of  rails  to 
be  used  is  always  governed  by  the  traffic  ex- 
pected to  run  over  them.  A  railroad  that  has 
considerable  grades  may  find  it  best  to  use 
heavy  engines  which  will  make  it  necessary  to 
lay  the  system  throughout  with  heavy  rails. 
Vice  versa,  light  traffic  will  accomplish  great 
economy  in  first  cost. 

The  ties  upon  which  the  rails  rest  must  be 
chosen  in  accordance  with  the  traffic  used. 
That  is,  large  ties  for  heavy  traffic  and  small 
ties  spaced  further  apart  for  light  traffic.  In 
any  permanent  road  where  the  cost  of  timber 
is  high  it  may  prove  profitable  to  put  these 
ties  through  one  of  the  many  preserving  pro- 
cesses. 

Drainage  is  the  most  important  point  about 


RAILROADS 

the  actual  condition  of  the  road  bed  itself. 
Good  drainage  should  be  obtained  no  matter 
whether  the  proposed  system  is  permanent  or 
temporary,  as  it  is  practically  the  foundation 
upon  which  the  whole  operating  equipment 
moves.  No  locating  engineer  would  permit 
a  saving  in  expense  at  the  cost  of  a  probable 
future  washout. 

In  general  the  choice  between  the  power 
used,  either  steam  or  electricity,  is  made  on  ac- 
count of  the  haulage  expected.  Steam  is  in 
use  for  long  hauls  where  speed  would  be  re- 
quired, while  electricity  at  the  present  time  is 
used  on  most  slow  speed  lines  and  where 
freight  or  passengers  would  be  expected  to 
travel  only  a  short  distance.  The  cost  of  in- 
stalling the  proper  apparatus  for  a  long  dis- 
tance electric  railroad  is  considerably  above 
that  of  a  steam  railroad.  This  extra  cost  is 
occasioned  by  laying  a  third  rail  and  the  neces- 
sary transmission  systems  to  get  the  electric 
power  to  that  third  rail  when  at  a  distance  from 
the  source  of  current.  Steam,  therefore,  is 
the  motive  power  for  practically  all  lon£  dis- 
tance railroads  in  which  each  piece  of  freight 
can  be  expected  to  cover  a  long  haul. 

Electricity  is  always  favored  for  urban  traf- 
fic, not  only  on  account  of  its  cleanliness,  but 
on  account  of  the  fact  that  it  is  more  econom- 
23 


RAILROADS 

ical  than  steam  when  a  greater  number  of 
transportation  units  are  moved  over  a  short 
line.  An  investigation  of  power  consumption 
seems  to  show  that  electricity  for  transpor- 
tation purposes  in  urban  traffic  is  more  eco- 
nomical than  steam. 

While  speaking  of  power  it  is  well  to  note 
a  comparatively  new  system  which  has  shown 
evidences  of  having  a  good  future  before  it. 
This  method  is  to  generate  electricity  by  a 
gasolene  motor,  which  is  mounted  upon  a  car 
making  an  independent  power  generating  plant. 
For  branch  lines  extending  from  a  trunk  rail- 
way this  will  probably  prove  to  be  a  consid- 
erable factor  in  reducing  maintenance  cost. 

In  special  cases  it  may  prove  expedient  to 
make  use  of  hydraulic  power  and  convert  the 
same  into  electricity  for  the  use  of  transit 
systems.  The  subject  of  hydraulic  power  will 
be  taken  up  later  under  its  own  classification 
and  will  not  be  considered  here. 

It  often  proves  advisable  to  tunnel  through 
a  mountain  instead  of  going  around  it  or 
climbing  up  to  its  top  gradually  by  the  use  of 
a  long  grade.  Tunnels  as  a  rule  should  be 
avoided,  especially  on  new  lines,  as  they  tend 
to  increase  the  first  cost.  They  prove  ad- 
vantageous, however,  in  reducing  grades  on  es- 
tablished systems  and  can  be  bored  with  per- 


RAILROADS 

feet  accuracy.  They  are,  however,  an  expen- 
sive addition  to  the  road  bed  and  should  be 
avoided  if  possible.  In  constructing  a  tunnel 
an  engineer  will  attempt  to  drill  it  at  as  many 
places  as  possible  in  order  to  save  time.  The 
customary  idea  that  tunneling  is  a  problemati- 
cal experiment  based  entirely  on  guess  work 
is  erroneous.  Any  engineer  accustomed  to 
that  work  can  estimate  its  cost  very  closely 
and  can  be  certain  of  carrying  it  through  suc- 
cessfully. 

Bridges  enter  into  the  construction  of  a  rail- 
road and  have  an  important  effect  on  its  cost. 
The  methods  by  which  an  engineer  would  take 
up  a  structure  of  this  kind  will  be  fully  ex- 
plained later. 

An  investor  who  is  considering  entering  into 
the  financial  end  of  any  proposed  railroad 
should  take  up  first  of  all  the  question  of  what 
does  this  railroad  connect.  In  other  words, 
is  the  city  at  each  end  of  the  line  attractive 
*|nough  to  make  this  road  a  success. 
I.  He  must  remember  that  a  proposed  line 
often  connects  a  large  city  with  a  trunk  line 
or  with  a  terminal,  and  in  that  event  he  can 
leave  out  of  his  consideration  the  population 
at  the  end  where  the  connection  to  the  original 
system  is  to  be  made.  Instead  he  should  take 
up  the  traffic  that  exists  on  the  line  connected, 
and  consider  its  effect  on  his  proposed  system. 


RAILROADS 

If  the  line  is  long  and  goes  through  fertile  and 
thinly  populated  country,  it  can  be  assumed 
that  after  a  few  years  that  country  will  be 
paying  its  share  for  freight. 

It  must  be  born  in  mind  that  a  railroad 
tends  to  build  up  its  surroundings,  which  in 
turn  increases  the  value  of  the  railroad  itself, 
and  that  slow  growth  based  on  conservative 
operation  will  eventually  be  the  best. 

It  is  not  advisable  to  invest  in  any  system 
that  is  operated  through  a  country  that  has 
undergone  too  fast  a  growth.  A  mushroom 
growth  is  generally  followed  by  an  equally 
quick  shrinkage.  The  fundamental  idea  in  in- 
vesting in  any  railroad  system  is  to  have  real 
worth  behind  it.  This  will  be  shown  in  its 
earnings  if  the  system  passes  through  fertile 
soil  and  large  cities,  or  connects  other  transit 
systems  that  have  been  established  and  have 
proven  their  worth. 

In  other  words,  the  fundamental  basis  on 
which  all  railroad  property  should  be  based  is 
that  of  stability  caused  by  actual  manufactur- 
ing industries  of  a  staple  character,  or  by  the 
actual  proof  that  the  land  traversed  is  cap- 
able of  growing  good  crops.  Of  course  it  is 
not  necessary  that  a  proposed  system  should 
pass  through  this  district,  but  if  not,  it  should 
be  a  connecting  link  between  districts  of  that 
nature. 

26 


RAILROADS 

To  insure  the  capital  invested  it  is  neces- 
sary to  see  that  the  financiers  have  received 
their  franchises  and  rights  from  the  proper  au- 
thorities. Overcapitalization  can  be  guarded 
against  by  seeing  that  the  engineer's  estimate 
of  original  cost  has  not  been  exceeded  except 
by  that  due  to  maintenance  for  the  first  few 
years. 

The  above  suggestions  would  apply,  of 
course,  to  a  promotor  who  would  wish  to  see 
his  securities  on  the  market  and  give  good  re- 
sults to  his  customers.  A  promotor  can  apply 
the  engineer's  estimate  of  the  first  cost  and  his 
own  knowledge  of  the  territory  traversed  and 
from  that  reach  a  definite  conclusion  as  to  the 
financial  worth  of  his  system.  The  public  in 
general  should  realize  that  for  every  dollar 
saved  by  an  engineer  they  will  evidently  bene- 
fit to  some  extent  through  the  reduction  of 
freight  charges  and  passenger  rates. 

Competition  is  an  important  point  to  con- 
sider in  investing  in  a  new  railroad  system. 
The  customary  idea  that  competition  is  ruin- 
ous to  the  success  of  a  new  railroad  is  very 
often  wrong.  If  it  can  be  proved  that  the  new- 
system  under  consideration  has  a  road  bed 
which  can  be  operated  more  economically  than 
its  competitor,  and  that  will  get  equal  rights 
to  operate,  it  will  turn  out  to  be  an  advantage 
instead  of  a  detriment.  It  will  not  be  neces- 
27 


RAILROADS 


sary  in  this  case  to  enter  an  entirely  new  terri- 
tory and  build  up  its  own  trade,  but  will  in- 
stead outdo  its  old  competitor  by  virtue  of  its 
better  location  and  more  economical  operation. 

There  is  one  class  of  railroad  that  may  be 
considered  profitably,  though  not  coming  un- 
der the  head  of  a  railroad  as  understood  by  the 
public  at  large.  Many  mines  and  large  indus- 
trial plants  find  it  to  their  advantage  to  add 
small  transportation  equipments  of  their  own. 
A  railroad  of  this  kind  can  be  made  profitable 
on  any  long  haul  in  which  the  freight  to  be 
carried  consists  of  large,  bulky  material,  such 
as  ore  and  coal. 

It  has  the  advantage  over  other  railroads 
that  its  income  derived  from  transportation  is 
a  known  factor  and  established  by  the  com- 
pany which  operates  it.  That  is,  an  ore  prop- 
erty operating  its  own  system  would  know 
definitely  how  much  material  it  would  carry, 
as  well  as  the  distance  over  which  it  would  be 
hauled. 

The  cost  of  maintenance  and  the  first  cost 
would  be  derived  by  an  engineer  in  the  same 
manner  in  which  he  would  obtain  them  in  a 
public  railway  system.  He  may,  however,  be 
assisted  by  the  fact  that  he  could  use  a  nar- 
row gauge  for  his  rails  and  save  in  road  bed 
expenses. 

28 


Hydraulic  Power  Systems 

THERE  are  two  ways  of  classifying 
hydraulic  power  plants  in  regard 
to  their  purpose.    The  first  is  one 
in    which    a    company    is   already 
formed  and  has  been  using  as  its  prime  mover 
either  steam  or  some  other  form  of  energy. 
This   company   would   look  at   water   power 
purely  as  a  matter  of  economy  and  the  ques- 
tion of  a  market  for  its  power  would  be  set- 
tled.   That  is,  a  hydraulic  plant  would  be  con- 
sidered only  as  a  cheaper  method  of  obtaining 
energy. 

For  instance,  it  often  happens  that  a  com- 
pany has  been  formed  and  has  been  in  opera- 
tion for  some  time,  which  will  manufacture 
a  certain  sort  of  product.  It  may  be  brought 
to  the  attention  of  the  owner  at  some  later  date 
that  within  a  few  miles  of  the  site  of  his  in- 
dustrial plant  is  located  a  source  of  water 
supply,  probably  in  the  form  of  some  stream 
which  may  have  a  waterfall  or  rapids  some- 
where on  its  course.  If  it  should  be  a  mill  in 
which  the  water  wheel  can  be  directly  con- 
nected to  the  machinery,  or  if  it  has  to  be 
transformed  into  electrical  energy  and  sent 


HYDRAULIC   POWER     SYSTEMS 

through  a  transmission  line  to  the  manufac- 
turing plant,  is  a  question  that  must  be  de- 
cided by  the  engineer  who  is  designing  and 
estimating  on  this  work.  The  owner  must 
take  into  account  the  fact  that  in  order  to  be 
economical  the  operating  cost  of  his  water 
plant  must  not  only  be  cheaper  than  the  op- 
erating cost,  including  the  price  of  the  coaTln 
a  steam  plant,  but  the  sum  of  that  operating 
cost  and  the  interest  on  the  cost  of  installa- 
tion of  the  water  power  must  be  less  than  that 
of  steam. 

This  is  decided  by  the  topographical  features 
of  the  country  in  relation  to  its  water  supply 
and  the  price  of  coal  at  that  locality.  It  is 
a  common  thing  for  paper  mills,  saw  mills,  and 
flour  mills,  or,  in  fact,  any  other  mill  requiring 
power  that  may  be  located  in  the  country,  to 
be  run  by  hydraulic  power.  In  showing  the 
relation  of  an  engineer  to  the  public,  and  in 
bringing  out  the  facts  which  govern  the  finan- 
cial value  of  a  hydraulic  plant,  it  would  be  best 
to  give  some  of  the  reasons  which  would  in- 
fluence him  in  his  decision. 

The  most  economical  method  of  operation  is 
to  run  the  machinery  directly  from  the  water 
wheel  itself  instead  of  transforming  the  me- 
chanical power  derived  from  water  into  elec- 

30 


HYDRAULIC   POWER    SYSTEMS 

trical  energy,  transporting  it  a  short  distance 
and  converting  it  again  into  mechanical  power. 

In  a  direct  connected  system  it  is  necessary 
to  have  the  water  wheels  or  turbines  within 
a  short  distance  of  the  machinery  to  be  run. 
It  must  be  understood  that  this  distance  re- 
ferred to  means  not  only  a  short  distance  on 
the  level,  but  must  be  within  a  small  distance 
vertically.  Unfortunately  it  is  seldom  possible 
to  put  a  power  using  mill  in  the  bottom  of  a 
narrow  valley  where  the  actual  turbines  would 
be  ordinarily  placed.  Whenever  this  is  pos- 
sible, however,  it  would  be  used  instead  of 
electricity.  The  actual  connection  between  the 
water  wheels  and  the  machinery  in  an  indus- 
trial plant  would  be  made  in  this  case  by 
shafting,  and  any  reduction  of  speed,  due  to 
the  fact  that  the  most  efficient  speed  of  that 
water  wheel  may  be  different  from  that  of  the 
machinery,  would  be  made  through  reduction 
gears.  The  engineer  in  charge  would,  of 
course,  make  his  decision  whether  direct  con- 
nection would  be  advantageous,  by  consider- 
ing each  project  as  a  separate  study.  • 

It  will  be  pertinent  to  say  that  almost  any 
quantity  of  water  power  can  be  used.  If  the 
quantity  at  hand  is  too  small  to  run  the  ma- 
chinery required,  it  can  be  stored  in  a  reser- 
voir similar  to  the  reservoirs  used  in  water 
31 


HYDRAULIC   POWER    SYSTEMS 

supply  for  cities,  and  the  quantity  stored  can 
be  used  in  intermittent  periods  in  which  the 
full  power  can  be  obtained. 

The  second  case  to  consider  is  one  in  which 
the  purpose  of  the  hydraulic  plant  is  to  sell 
the  power  generated  to  different  customers  in- 
stead of  as  in  the  first  case,  erecting  this  power 
plant  for  the  sole  purpose  of  furnishing  power 
for  the  owner's  benefit.  It  is  obvious  that  a 
direct  connected  hydraulic  plant  cannot  be  used 
when  the  power  consumed  will  be  taken  up 
by  many  different  customers. 

The  distance  from  source  of  supply  to  con- 
sumer is  a  large  factor  in  establishing  the 
financial  future  of  any  hydraulic  company.  It 
has  been  found  by  practice  that  there  is  a  loss 
of  energy  in  transmission  lines  which  carry 
electricity  over  any  great  distance.  Also  the 
first  cost  of  the  line  makes  it  prohibitive  for 
any  but  the  largest  companies  to  carry  their 
power  over  any  considerable  distance. 

It  would  be  well  in  a  company  of  this  second 
class  to  look  carefully  into  the  question  of  the 
sale  of  power  and  to  make  sure  that  there  is 
sufficient  market  to  consume  all  the  power 
generated.  Within  a  short  distance,  which  will 
depend  of  course  on  the  size  of  plant  erected, 
should  be  a  large  enough  community  to  con- 
sume all  this  power.  It  is  best  in  this  case 
3* 


HYDRAULIC   POWER    SYSTEMS 

to  take  a  community  which  will  take  away  an 
even  supply  of  energy,  and  in  doing  so  cut 
down  what  is  known  as  the  peak  load.  By  a 
peak  load  is  meant  an  extra  load  which  would 
occur  at  a  certain  time  in  the  day.  That  is 
generally  about  5:30  o'clock  in  the  ordinary 
city,  when  factories  and  offices  are  lighting  up 
and  when  traffic  undergoes  its  rush  hour,  and 
in  addition,  residences  will  require  lights.  In 
general  any  power  plant  that  has  for  its  con- 
sumers those  who  will  consume  steady  power, 
can  be  considered  as  a  good  business  project. 
As  an  example  of  this  steady  consumption  of 
current,  it  could  be  said  that  any  power  plant 
devoting  its  energy  to  a  number  of  manu- 
facturing industries  which  are  more  or  less 
constant  and  which  keep  steady  hours  of  op- 
eration, are  bound  to  show  themselves  to  be 
a  profitable  class  of  consumers.  It  is  seldom 
possible,  however,  to  have  consumers  so  placed 
that  a  sudden  increase  of  power  used  can  be 
avoided.  It  will  be  the  duty  of  the  engineer, 
therefore,  to  use  his  knowledge  in  forming 
some  method  of  distributing  his  machinery  so 
this  sudden  increase  of  power  can  be  taken 
care  of,  and  without  adding  any  extra  amount 
of  machinery. 

The  most  difficult  question  to  the  engineer 
is  in  the  design  of  dams.     It  is  of  the  most 

33 


HYDRAULIC   POWER  SYSTEMS 

importance  to  design  a  dam  that  is  safe.  The 
loss  of  property  caused  by  sudden  floods,  and 
the  possible  loss  of  life  makes  necessary  the 
most  careful  attention  of  any  engineer.  The 
purpose  of  a  dam  is  either  to  back  water  up 
to  the  level  required,  or  to  act  as  a  reservoir 
to  retain  a  sufficient  quantity  to  keep  the  hy- 
draulic plant  going  in  time  of  a  drought.  If 
the  case  of  a  large  slow-moving  river  be  con- 
sidered, it  can  be  readily  seen  that  a  dam 
stretched  across  it  will  back  up  the  water  be- 
hind it  until  it  reaches  the  top  of  the  dam  and 
this  dam  would  be  considered  as  one  serving 
only  as  a  wall  to  back  the  water  up  to  the  re- 
quired level.  It  often  happens,  though,  that 
a  stream  high  up  in  the  mountains  will  run 
dry  in  the  Fall  and  will  be  full  of  water  in  the 
Spring.  An  engineer  in  designing  a  dam  for 
this  case  would  design  it  primarily  in  relation 
to  its  purpose  as  the  closing  wall  of  a  reser- 
voir. To  be  sure,  it  may  act  similarly  to  the 
first  case,  but  its  primary  object  will  be  to 
store  up  sufficient  water  to  last  over  periods 
of  dry  weather.  An  engineer  accustomed  to 
this  class  of  work  would  pay  his  strictest  at- 
tention to  the  foundation  upon  which  the  dam 
sets,  and  would  personally  see  that  his  direc- 
tions were  carried  out.  The  kind  of  dam  used, 
whether  a  concrete,  steel,  or  an  earth  embank- 

34 


HYDRAULIC   POWER    SYSTEMS 

ment,  is  one  to  be  decided  upon  when  the 
different  natural  conditions  have  been  care- 
fully looked  into. 

It  may  be  of  interest  to  know  that  no  mat- 
ter what  kind  of  a  dam  is  built  it  is  always 
advisable  to  have  in  it  what  is  called  a  spill- 
way. A  spillway  is  a  wall,  the  top  of  which 
is  lower  than  the  top  of  the  dam.  If  the  water 
rises  too  high,  as  it  would  in  times  of  ex- 
tremely wet  weather,  it  will  flow  over  this 
spillway  and  away  from  the  dam.  This 
method  of  getting  rid  of  a  sudden  rise  of 
water  prevents  any  injurious  action  to  a  dam 
by  directing  the  waste  into  channels  which  are 
made  especially  for  that  purpose. 

The  question  of  the  amount  of  energy  or 
power  to  be  derived  from  any  stream  or  water 
shed  can  only  be  decided  by  an  engineer.  It 
may  be  of  service  to  others,  however,  to  have 
a  general  idea  of  what  his  duties  would  be  in 
this  case.  In  the  first  place  he  would  be  ex- 
pected to  collect  all  data  available  in  reference 
to  the  rain  fall  of  that  region  and  to  note  care- 
fully the  length  of  periods  of  drought  that  oc- 
curred in  the  past.  He  must  then  visit  the  site 
of  the  proposed  plant  and  make  careful  sur- 
veys. These  surveys  would  include  all  the 
topographical  features  encountered  and  as 
much  data  as  possible  of  a  geological  nature. 

35 


HYDRAULIC  POWER  SYSTEMS 

Further,  this  survey  must  include  a  series  of 
stream  discharge  measurements  covering  a 
reasonable  length  of  time.  That  is,  he  must 
not  only  know  how  much  water  is  flowing 
through  that  stream,  but  he  must  have  a  rea- 
sonable knowledge  of  the  average  quantity  of 
water  which  that  stream  is  capable  of  dis- 
charging over  a  long  period.  In  addition  to 
that  it  is  absolutely  necessary  to  have  careful 
systems  of  levels  run  along  the  banks  of  the 
stream  in  order  to  find  out  how  much  available 
head  he  will  be  able  to  obtain.  The  available 
head  of  a  hydraulic  plant  is  the  difference  in 
height  between  the  point  where  the  water  is 
taken  from,  and  from  the  point  where  the 
actual  turbines,  or  water  wheels  from  which 
the  power  is  derived,  are  located.  The  actual 
amount  of  energy  that  is  possible  to  be  derived 
from  any  one  power  plant  is  dependent  chiefly 
on  the  amount  of  water  available  and  on  this 
so-called  head. 

An  engineer  can  calculate  the  amount  of 
power  to  be  obtained  in  any  case  and  can  de- 
sign and  estimate  the  first  cost  and  cost  of 
maintenance  on  any  water  system.  In  his 
estimate  and  design  of  a  system  it  is  part  of 
his  work  to  see  that  the  kind  of  power  ma- 
chinery is  used  that  will  give  the  most  efficient 
results  consistent  with  the  conditions  which 
36 


HYDRAULIC   POWER    SYSTEMS 

meet  him.  That  is,  if  he  can  obtain  a  high 
head  or  a  low  available  head  of  water,  he  must 
design  the  water  wheels  in  proportion,  and  in 
doing  so  obtain  the  greatest  amount  of  energy 
possible  to  be  derived  from  the  amount  of 
water  that  can  be  obtained. 

It  has  been  found  best  to  use  a  form  of 
water  wheel,  known  as  an  undershot  wheel, 
wherever  the  actual  fall  of  the  water  is  under 
four  or  five  feet.  It  may  be  interesting  to 
note  that  this  is  the  original  kind  of  water 
wheel  used  when  water  power  was  first  in 
use.  From  available  heads  of  five  feet  to  four 
or  five  hundred,  turbines  have  been  found  to 
be  the  most  efficient.  They  would  be  designed, 
however,  especially  for  the  available  head  to  be 
used  in  each  case,  and  it  should  be  remembered 
that  they  are  not  bought  and  sold  like  mer- 
chandise, but  are  subject  to  the  design  of  an 
engineer.  Any  height  of  water  over  this 
makes  it  necessary  to  use  a  new  type  of  wheel 
known  as  an  impulse  wheel.  Its  power  is  de- 
rived entirely  from  the  striking  force  of  the 
water  instead  of  its  weight.  It  is  possible  for 
an  engineer  to  foretell  with  accuracy  whether 
the  proposed  company  will  be  a  success  finan- 
cially as  far  as  the  amount  of  power  and  the 
cost  of  it  is  concerned. 

Its  market  is  either  governed  by  an  indi- 

37 


HYDRAULIC   POWER    SYSTEMS 

vidual  as  in  the  first  case  mentioned  at  the 
start  of  this  article,  or  is  sold  to  a  community. 
In  the  latter  case  the  promoter  and  financiers 
would  be  the  ones  to  decide  whether  the 
amount  of  available  energy  could  be  disposed 
of  at  a  profit. 

To  an  investor  considering  a  water  power 
problem  four  points  are  of  the  greatest  im- 
portance. The  first  one  is  the  quantity  of 
power  to  be  derived  and  actually  found  at  the 
point  of  consumption,  which  is,  of  course  a 
matter  to  be  decided  by  an  engineer.  The 
second  point  is  the  fact  that  the  bonds  repre- 
sent actual  values  put  in  construction.  The 
third  point  is  the  question  of  water  rights.  It 
should  be  known  that  the  proper  authorities 
have  authorized  and  given  their  consent  to  the 
water  rights  of  any  proposed  power  plant. 
The  fourth  point,  market,  is  decided  mostly  by 
that  rare  quality  known  as  common  sense.  By 
this  is  meant  the  ability  to  know  that  after 
having  generated  a  certain  quantity  of  power, 
that  it  is  possible  to  sell  that  power  at  a  profit- 
able rate.  The  interest  on  the  first  cost  added 
to  the  maintenance  cost,  as  derived  by  the  en- 
gineer in  charge,  will  give  the  expenses  to  be 
expected  by  any  company.  The  probable  in- 
come would  be  the  total  quantity  of  energy 
derived,  taking  into  account  the  rates  favored 
38 


HYDRAULIC   POWER    SYSTEMS  f 

by  competitors  that  may  be  operating  in  that 
vicinity.  As  has  been  said  before,  the  question 
of  the  competitor's  prices  for  power,  and  of 
finding  a  suitable  market,  would  not  interest 
the  owner  of  an  industrial  plant,  as  he  would 
probably  undertake  this  proposition  for  the 
sole  purpose  of  effecting  an  economy  in  an  in- 
dustrial plant  already  erected. 

Hydraulic  power  companies  have  the  advant- 
age as  an  investment  that  the  original  capital  is 
represented  by  an  actual  property  of  intrinsic 
worth.  The  water  rights,  franchises,  machin- 
ery and  other  equipment,  all  represent  a  value 
that  would  not  deteriorate  in  the  future.  If 
the  consumption  of  the  power  generated  has 
been  established,  it  will  be  found  that  the 
fundamental  value  behind  the  capital  will  in- 
crease in  value.  This  increase  is  due  to  the 
fact  that  a  reduction  of  power  cost  in 
any  vicinity  will  tend  to  increase  industry. 


39 


Drainage  of  Lands  Partly 
Inundated 

THE  first  question  that  would  rise  in 
a  drainage  problem,  the  nature  of 
which  is  to  drain  water  from  a 
marsh  and  to  make  it  productive, 
is  to  note  whether  there  is  an  outlet  for  the 
water  that  is  to  be  drained  off.  In  almost 
every  case  a  marsh  or  partly  inundated  stretch 
of  land  will  be  situated  near  a  water  course 
in  such  a  way  that  this  question  of  outlet  will 
not  be  serious.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind, 
however,  that,  in  certain  cases  such  as  in  sink 
holes  which  occur  in  Florida,  these  marshes 
will  not  be  so  situated,  and  then  the  question 
of  outlet  must  be  carefully  considered.  There- 
fore, the  drainage  of  the  usual  type  of  marsh, 
that  is,  a  marsh  situated  near  a  river  or  lake, 
can  generally  be  made  a  successful  and  profit- 
paying  improvement. 

The  actual  methods  of  drainage  itself  -can 
be  divided  into  two  classes.  The  most  com- 
mon and  advantageous  one  is  that  in  which 
natural  drainage  will  carry  away  the  flow  of 
water  by  gravity.  The  second  case  is  one  in 
which  pumps  are  used  to  pump  this  water 
41 


DRAINAGE 

away  and  is  financially  successful  only  in 
large  areas  and  in  special  cases.  The  drainage 
of  Holland  was  accomplished  almost  wholly 
by  this  second  method.  It  is  obvious  that  any 
system  which  drains  land  solely  by  the  natural 
flow  of  water  costs  less  to  maintain  than  one 
in  which  that  flow  must  be  assisted  by  the 
action  of  pumps.  In  a  pumping  system  there 
is  not  only  the  first  cost  of  the  pumps  and 
their  installation,  but  the  cost  of  maintaining 
them  at  their  proper  state  of  efficiency.  The 
cost  of  maintenance  would  consist  of  the  fuel 
and  the  lubricating  oils  used,  and  finally  the 
cost  of  the  men  themselves  who  operate  these 
pumps.  In  small  plants  the  fuel  used  may 
profitably  be  gasolene,  and  in  some  special 
cases  gasolene  or  steam  could  be  assisted  by 
wind  mills.  The  latter,  however,  should  not 
be  counted  on  to  do  the  work  alone,  as  they 
are  unreliable  in  times  of  excessive  rainfall, 
when  the  pumps  would  be  required  immedi- 
ately. It  is  obvious  that  the  salaries  of  men 
employed  in  operating  the  pumps  would  be 
less  in  gasolene  than  in  steam.  This  whole 
cost  of  maintenance  becomes  less  and  less  per 
acre  as  the  size  of  the  area  to  be  improved  is 
increased.  That  is,  a  large  area  can  maintain 
a  pumping  outfit  at  a  comparatively  small  cost 
per  acre. 


DRAINAGE 

On  the  other  hand,  the  maintenance  of  a 
gravity  system  is  practically  nothing  with  the 
exception  of  occasional  repairing  of  ditches 
and  dikes.  It  is  possible  for  a  drainage  engi- 
neer to  economize  in  his  design  and  arrange- 
ment of  a  system.  He  is  able  through  his 
knowledge  of  waterflow  and  seepage  through 
soils  of  different  nature,  to  obtain  the  utmost 
efficiency  out  of  the  size  and  location  of  the 
drains  which  he  lays  out. 

Up  to  the  present  date  there  are  two  gen- 
eral systems  in  use.  The  open  system  is  com- 
posed of  open  drains  traversing  the  field  in 
question  in  such  a  manner  that  the  maximum 
amount  of  water  will  be  carried  away  with 
the  least  amount  of  expense  in  digging  these 
ditches.  The  other  system  has  for  its  drain, 
pipes,  generally  of  vitrified  clay,  which  are  laid 
down  a  few  feet  beneath  the  surface  and  are 
then  covered  up.  Any  water  held  in  suspen- 
sion by  the  soil  above  gradually  enters  the 
joints  between  the  ends  of  the  pipe  and  is  then 
carried  away  to  the  outlet.  This  latter  system 
is  more  expensive  than  the  first,  but  hcfs  the 
advantage  that  the  top  soil  is  left  undisturbed 
for  cultivation.  In  general  the  aim  of  the  en- 
gineer in  laying  out  drains  is  to  form  them  in 
straight  lines  perpendicular  to  the  natural  flow 
of  the  water,  in  nearly  every  case  this  will 

43 


DRAINAGE 

result  in  a  gridiron  effect  in  which  the  various 
branches  will  end  into  a  main  drain,  which  in 
itself  will  carry  the  water  into  the  outlet. 

The  area  that  can  be  made  useful  by  proper 
draining  is  greater  than  would  be  supposed. 
Almost  every  river  or  lake  of  any  size  has  at 
its  edge  big  areas  of  land  which  can  be  im- 
proved and  raised  from  a  condition  of  useless- 
ness  to  one  of  equality  with  the  best  farm 
lands  surrounding.  Lakes  and  streams  located 
in  flat  countries  are  specially  liable  to  have 
a  big  percentage  of  the  acreage  surrounding 
them  in  the  form  of  a  marsh.  In  general  a 
farm  which  has  the  advantage  of  a  pond  or 
water  frontage  on  a  river,  will  also  have  the 
disadvantage  of  a  considerable  amount  of  use- 
less land  included  in  its  area. 

Part  of  these  marshes  can  be  readily  re- 
claimed and  made  useful  by  the  simple  method 
of  building  a  dike  or  embankment  of  earth 
between  the  water  course  in  question  and  the 
marsh.  If  possible  a  channel  could  then  be 
dug  from  the  marsh  itself  to  a  point  down 
stream  which  would  then  permit  drainage  by 
the  natural  flow  of  water.  To  explain  this 
further,  it  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  the 
part  of  the  water  course  immediately  adjacent 
to  the  marsh  under  consideration  would  be  at 
the  same  level  as  the  water  in  the  marsh  itself. 

44 


DRAINAGE 


But  every  stream  tends  to  flow  down  hill,  and 
therefore,  if  it  is  possible  to  connect  the  marsh 
by  a  separate  channel  to  that  point  down 
stream,  and  in  the  meantime  protect  it  by 
an  embankment  from  the  water  in  the  stream 
near  it,  it  will  prove  a  convenient  method  of 
drying  the  land  in  question  without  the  use  of 
pumps.  If  this  is  not  possible,  direct  pumping 
would  have  to  be  resorted  to  and  could  be 
made  profitable  on  a  large  enough  area. 

The  usual  condition  for  hilly  country 
through  which  a  stream  passes,  is  that  the  part 
of  the  slope  of  the  hills  nearest  the  stream  is 
in  a  perpetually  wet  state.  Drainage  from  the 
hills  in  that  vicinity  sometimes  have  the  effect 
of  making  a  marsh  of  the  land  adjacent  to  the 
water  course,  although  it  may  be  a  few  feet 
above  water.  A  case  of  this  kind  is  the  least 
difficult  of  all  to  drain.  The  fact  that  the 
land  in  question  is  located  above  the  natural 
water  level  for  that  vicinity  makes  it  possible 
to  use  the  natural  flow  of  the  water  itself  in 
drying  the  land  so  that  it  may  be  made  pro- 
ductive. The  productivity  here  is  made  sure 
by  the  fact  that  the  roots  of  all  plants,  except 
the  largest  trees,  will  be  above  the  natural 
level  of  the  water  held  in  that  stream  and  will, 
therefore,  be  unharmed  by  too  much  moisture. 

45 


DRAINAGE 

Land  of  this  kind  cannot  be  subject  to  floods 
if  properly  drained. 

Florida  and  a  great  many  Southern  states 
that  are  not  mountainous  have  marshes  with- 
out any  apparent  outlet.  They  are  sometimes 
dry  part  of  the  year  but  seldom  dry  enough 
for  cultivation.  A  considerable  amount  of  this 
waste  land  can  be  saved  by  applying  the  proper 
methods  suitable  to  each  case.  If  possible  a 
drain  would  be  dug  from  one  of  these  sink 
holes  to  a  stream  or  outlet  nearby  and  would 
in  this  way  obtain  good  results  without  any 
mechanical  assistance.  If  this  is  not  pos- 
sible a  pipe  line  would  extend  from  the  lowest 
point  in  that  marsh  to  the  nearest  outlet  in 
that  vicinity  and  drainage  would  be  obtained 
by  pumping.  Drains  radiating  from  the  low- 
est point  in  the  marsh  would  serve  to  collect 
the  water  and  bring  it  to  the  pumps.  One 
point  will  always  be  taken  into  account  and 
that  is  to  provide  a  sufficient  reservoir  by  ex- 
cavation if  necessary  at  that  point  of  lowest 
depression  in  order  to  provide  for  any  sudden 
rainfall.  The  water  collected  can  then  be 
pumped  out  slowly  and  the  danger  of  flooding 
avoided. 

It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  an  engineer 
would  always  attempt  to  use  the  gravity  sys- 
tem where  the  natural  conditions  would  allow. 
46 


DRAINAGE 

The  forced  system,  however,  can  be  made 
profitable  when  the  area  to  be  drained  is  large, 
and  where  the  outlet  is  not  at  too  great  a  dis- 
tance. The  land  uncovered  after  a  sink  hole 
has  been  drained,  is  at  least  as  good  as  the 
surrounding  land  and  can  usually  be  counted 
upon  to  raise  better  crops,  due  to  the  fact  that 
the  water  held  in  suspension  seems  to  collect 
fertilizing  elements. 

An  engineer  accustomed  to  drainage  work 
can  pick  out  the  best  method  that  will  ac- 
complish the  result  required  by  making  use  of 
all  natural  facilities  at  hand.  He  can  obtain, 
both  in  the  methods  employed  and  in  seeing 
that  his  method  and  ideas  are  properly  carried 
out,  the  strictest  economy  for  the  benefit  of 
those  interested  in  any  improvement  of  this 
nature,  and  in  that  way  assist  in  making  it  a 
financial  success. 

The  financial  end  of  an  improvement  of  this 
kind  would  be  of  interest  to  two  classes  of 
people.  It  often  happens  that  a  company  will 
be  formed  by  men  of  means  to  buy  a  large 
acreage  of  marshland  with  the  intentiofl  of  im- 
proving it  by  the  use  of  drainage  and  then 
sell  the  land  improved  at  prices  under  which 
farm  lands  in  that  vicinity  are  usually  sold. 
A  financial  venture  of  this  kind  can  be  made 
a  profitable  one  entailing  a  minimum  amount 
of  risk. 

47 


DRAINAGE 

The  first  thing  that  anyone  interested  in 
such  a  company  must  take  up,  is  whether  the 
title  for  the  land  in  question  is  good,  both 
before  improvements  and  after  the  nature  of 
the  land  has  been  changed.  The  question  of 
title  of  lands  under  water  that  border  on  a 
navigable  stream,  is  one  that  should  be  care- 
fully considered.  The  simple  fact  that  it 
borders  on  the  property  of  the  company  or 
individual  installing  an  improvement  of  this 
nature  will  not  necessarily  establish  the  owner- 
ship of  any  land  that  may  be  reclaimed  from 
under  water. 

It  is  of  the  greatest  importance  to  know  that 
after  having  made  these  improvements  that  the 
resulting  property  can  be  used  for  the  purpose 
of  growing  crops.  Any  land  that  is  not  com- 
posed of  stony  ground,  and  which  is  not  under 
the  influence  of  salt  water,  can  be  made  to 
produce  the  usual  crops  found  in  that  vicinity. 
Fortunately  it  is  possible  for  a  prospective 
buyer  to  tell  whether  any  particular  land  can 
be  made  productive  by  seeing  it  and  noting 
whether  it  has  the  same  consistency  as  that 
surrounding  it.  The  amount  grown  per  acre 
on  improved  lands  is  practically  always  greater 
than  that  grown  near  at  hand.  This  seems  to 
be  due  to  the  fact  that  it  collects  by  virtue  of 
the  extra  amount  of  water  held  in  suspension 
48 


DRAINAGE 

the  various  elements  which  tend  to  make  the 
soil  productive.  The  old  bed  of  marsh,  which 
has  had  time  to  thoroughly  dry  out,  would 
support  a  more  luxuriant  growth  than  any- 
where in  the  immediate  vicinity. 

A  company  that  has  the  proper  title  to  the 
property,  and  the  knowledge  that  the  property 
after  being  drained  can  be  made  productive,  has 
next  to  go  into  the  question  as  to  whether  the 
proper  authorities  will  permit  the  improve- 
ments under  consideration.  This  point  should 
be  carefully  looked  into,  as  it  is  fully  as  im- 
portant as  the  title  itself. 

The  financial  status  of  a  company  under- 
taking this  class  of  work,  would  be  seriously 
affected  through  the  selling  end  if  the  property 
under  improvement  is  not  situated  so  that  the 
produce  grown  upon  it  can  be  easily  trans- 
ported to  the  nearest  market.  Good  trans- 
portation as  used  for  farm  produce  consists 
usually  of  good  roads  leading  to  the  point  of 
production,  and  a  railroad  or  boat  line  a  few 
miles  away,  which  in  turn  leads  directly  to  the 
market.  It  cannot  be  expected,  of  courSe,  that 
agricultural  property  can  be  so  located  that  its 
produce  can  be  loaded  into  a  railroad  or  boat 
without  the  use  of  wagons. 

To  any  one  interested  in  a  company  of  this 
nature  it  is  well  to  note  that  the  cost  of  the 

49 


DRAINAGE 


land  as  bought  unimproved,  plus  the  cost  of 
improvements  as  estimated  by  the  engineer  in 
charge,  is  well  under  the  usual  price  paid  for 
good  farm  lands  in  that  vicinity.  In  other  words, 
it  is  necessary  to  know  that  the  engineer's  esti- 
mate of  improvement  cost  is  enough  under  the 
increased  value  of  the  land  as  improved  to 
give  a  good  profit. 

A  land  owner  in  considering  an  improve- 
ment of  this  nature,  should  consider  whether 
he  has  obtained  the  right  authority  to  improve 
his  property  if  any  would  be  required.  It  is 
of  the  greatest  importance  to  him  to  know  be- 
fore expending  any  sum  on  it,  whether  he  can 
make  use  of  the  property  in  question  and  drain 
it  into  good  farm  land.  As  was  mentioned 
before,  any  land  out  of  the  influence  of  salt 
water,  and  not  of  stony  nature,  can  be  con- 
sidered a  good  proposition.  He  will  know 
from  his  past  experience  how  much  he  can 
obtain  per  acre  as  a  profit  on  the  rest  of  his 
property,  and  by  using  the  cost  of  improve- 
ment as  estimated  by  the  engineer,  can  easily 
find  whether  the  property  in  question  will  be 
a  financial  success  to  him.  For  example,  the 
interest  on  the  first  cost  added  to  the  amount 
necessary  to  keep  the  system  in  good  order, 
can  be  considered  a  yearly  expense  item.  If 
the  profit  derived  by  the  owner  on  an  area 


DRAINAGE 

equivalent  to  the  one  improved,  is  greater  than 
this  yearly  cost,  he  can  be  satisfied  that  his 
improvement  will  be  a  financial  success.  It  can 
be  borne  in  mind  that  land  of  this  kind  can  be 
safely  counted  on  to  produce  larger  crops  than 
that  which  has  been  under  cultivation  for  any 
length  of  time. 


Irrigation  of  Arid  Lands 

THE  primary  object  in  an  irrigation 
system  is  to  buy  land  at  rates  con- 
sistent with  the  fact  that  it  is  arid, 
to  improve  it  by  watering  and  to 
finally  sell  or  cultivate  the  property  irrigated 
at  a  profit  above  the  cost  of  the  improvements 
themselves.  In  selling  property  resulting  from 
the  operation  of  an  irrigating  project  it  is  nec- 
essary to  guarantee  to  the  future  owners  a 
permanent  supply  of  water.  That  is,  while  the 
land  itself  can  be  sold  outright  the  continuous 
operation  oi  the  water  system  itself  must  be 
counted  upon.  The  general  methods  are  either 
to  sell  the  water  at  a  guaranteed  rate  inserted 
in  the  bill  of  sale  for  the  land,  or  to  make  up 
for  the  cost  of  maintenance  and  operation  by 
assessing  the  land  at  so  much  per  acre. 

There  is  a  considerable  amount  of  land  in 
the  Western  part  of  the  United  States  that  at 
the  present  is  practically  useless  and*  which 
can  be  bought  at  an  exceptionally  low  price. 
Records  seem  to  show  that  the  total  amount  of 
acreage  irrigated  in  1910  is  19,300,000,  which 
has  been  improved  by  a  total  cost  of  $304,- 
700,000.  These  figures  compare  very  favor- 

53 


IRRIGATION 

ably  with  the  total  of  7,500,000  acres  irrigated 
at  the  end  of  1899  in  showing  the  tremendous 
increase  in  this  class  of  improvement.  These 
figures  show  that  the  first  cost  per  acre  of  in- 
stalling an  improvement  of  this  nature  is  not 
excessive.  The  cost  of  operation  and  main- 
tenance for  a  year  has  been  given  as  $1.07  per 
acre,  which  is  considerably  under  the  usual 
profit  derived  from  farming  operations.  If 
it  should  happen  that  arid  lands  are  so  situated 
that  they  can  be  irrigated,  it  would  prove  prof- 
itable to  buy  them  and  then  sell  them  after 
the  improvement  in  question  had  been  done. 
It  is  necessary  in  order  to  irrigate  any  land 
successfully,  to  have  a  sufficient  water  shed 
near  at  hand  and  at  a  higher  level  if  possible 
than  the  property  to  be  improved. 

In  considering  the  quantity  of  water  needed 
to  irrigate  any  stretch  of  land,  it  is  necessary 
to  know  the  crops  raised  in  that  region  and 
which  may  be  expected  to  be  grown  there 
when  improved.  When  this  is  decided  upon 
it  can  be  definitely  known  how  much  water 
will  be  required  for  any  certain  kind  of  pro- 
duce. Suppose,  for  instance,  that  a  certain 
property  was  located  in  a  region  which  would 
be  suitable  for  fruit  growing,  and  especially 
for  apples.  In  that  case  the  amount  of  water 
required  for  that  particular  crop  would  be 

54 


IRRIGATION 

carefully  considered  and  would  be  used  as  the 
amount  needed  to  successfully  carry  through 
that  irrigation.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that 
considerable  surplus  would  be  required  by  an 
engineer  in  order  to  make  allowance  for  the 
production  of  many  other  crops  that  may  be 
suitable  for  that  climate.  The  engineer  in 
charge  would  make  a  careful  survey  of  the 
water  shed  from  which  this  water  is  obtained 
and  find  out  whether  this  required  amount 
can  be  obtained.  This  survey  must  of  course, 
take  into  account  long  periods  of  time. 

The  rain  fall  is  of  the  greatest  importance 
in  showing  whether  there  is  any  likelihood  of 
having  long  sustained  drought  on  the  water 
shed  in  question.  The  effect  of  a  drought  on 
any  land  would  mean  the  positive  failure  of 
any  crops  and  a  considerable  loss  to  the  own- 
ers. It  is  very  important  then  that  the  past 
records  of  the  water  shed,  from  which  this 
supply  of  water  is  to  be  taken,  should  be  care- 
fully noted.  It  can  generally  be  assumed  that 
if  no  droughts  have  occurred  in  the  last  five 
or  six  years  that  there  will  be  none  in  the  fu- 
ture. Almost  any  stream,  however,  has  an 
annual  variation  of  flow  which  may  be  suf- 
ficient to  cause  serious  inconvenience.  That  is, 
a  stream  running  through  a  mountainous  coun- 
try, and  through  regions  accustomed  to  snow 

55 


IRRIGATION 

in  the  Winter  time,  will  usually  have  a  heavy 
discharge  in  the  Spring  and  a  light  one  during 
the  late  Summer. 

Under  conditions  in  which  the  supply  of 
water  is  varied  to  such  an  extent  that  it  may 
cause  temporary  drought,  it  will  prove  ex- 
pedient for  the  engineer  to  design  a  dam  that 
will  impound  a  sufficient  quantity  to  guarantee 
a  continuous  supply  of  water.  That  is,  if  he 
should  build  a  dam  across  a  stream  he  will 
cause  the  water  in  that  stream  to  form  into  a 
lake,  the  size  of  which  depends  on  the  topo- 
graphical nature  of  the  country.  This  lake 
will  act  as  a  reservoir  from  which  the  water 
can  be  drawn  at  will.  It  is  pertinent  to  add 
that  a  sufficient  surplus  of  water  would  be  on 
hand  to  make  up  for  the  loss  by  evaporation, 
and  that  through  seepage  at  the  bottom  of  the 
ditches  and  reservoir. 

At  present  there  are  two  systems  of  trans- 
mission to  carry  water  from  the  reservoir  to 
the  land  to  be  irrigated,  which  are  open  to  the 
choice  of  the  engineer  in  charge.  The  system 
of  open  ditches  is,  of  course,  the  least  expensive 
one  to  follow.  It  requires,  however,  ideal  con- 
ditions in  which  the  reservoir  must  be  practi- 
cally at  the  same  level  as  the  land  to  be  im- 
proved, and  furthermore,  the  country  between 
them  should  be  nearly  at  that  level.  This 
56 


IRRIGATION 

would  make  an  inexpensive  system  and  one 
which  is  more  efficient  than  a  pipe  system. 
The  use  of  pipes  would  be  necessary  where  the 
water  would  cross  a  valley  or  run  over  a 
ridge  of  hills  too  wide  to  permit  economical 
tunneling  or  bridging.  In  a  case  of  this  kind 
the  line  laid  would  be  away  from  the  natural 
level  which  would  be  taken  by  the  water  if 
permitted  to  flow  freely.  A  pipe  line  of  this 
kind  would  be  called  a  siphon. 

The  other  method  of  carrying  water  over  a 
valley  is,  of  course,  by  building  a  viaduct  or 
bridge,  so  that  it  may  flow  freely  through  a 
pipe  or  open  trough  placed  on  the  top  of  this 
bridge.  When  passing  a  hill  which  is  very 
high  and  narrow  at  the  bottom,  it  may  prove 
more  economical  to  tunnel  through  it  than  to 
build  a  pipe  line  over  the  top.  In  the  siphon 
mentioned  before,  as  a  method  of  going  over 
a  hill  or  along  the  bottom  of  a  depression,  it 
is  not  necessary  to  use  pumps  if  the  outlet 
end  of  the  pipe  is  lower  than  the  end  near  the 
reservoir.  This  is  due  to  the  fact  that  water 
will  tend  to  flow  down  hill,  and  if  in  a  closed 
pipe  with  one  end  lower  than  the  other,  it  will 
actually  flow  up  hill  a  short  distance  and  then 
down  hill  on  the  other  side  a  greater  distance, 
in  this  way  making  its  total  flow  in  a  down 
hill  direction. 

57 


IRRIGATION 


The  customary  method  at  present  of  spread- 
ing water  over  the  land  to  be  improved,  is  by 
using  open  ditches.  They  are  arranged  in  a 
gridiron  formation  and  are  spaced  according 
to  the  amount  of  water  required  per  acre  on 
the  land  to  be  irrigated.  The  main  branch  of 
these  ditches  will  lead  directly  from  the  line 
which  comes  from  the  reservoir,  and  will  in 
turn  empty  into  various  branches  which  act  as 
distributors.  The  actual  distribution  is  as- 
sisted by  the  fact  that  any  soil  will  tend  to 
absorb  water,  and  in  doing  so  will  spread  it 
uniformly  between  the  ditches. 

The  design  of  any  system  of  irrigation  as 
done  by  an  engineer,  can  be  considered  of  the 
greatest  importance.  By  the  proper  layout  of 
his  work  he  can  create  the  greatest  economy 
consistent  with  the  successful  carrying  out  of 
the  enterprise.  He  can  also  foretell  with  ac- 
curacy th6  amount  of  water  to  be  obtained  from 
any  water  shed  as  well  as  the  loss  in  transmis- 
sion from  the  point  of  supply  to  the  land  to  be 
improved.  He  would  investigate  the  question  of 
drought  in  its  influence  on  the  future  produc- 
tive value  there.  The  question  of  whether  a  res- 
ervoir is  necessary  or  not  must  be  decided  by 
him,  and  in  doing  so  he  will  be  able  to  guar- 
antee a  continuous  supply  of  water.  Through 
his  knowledge  of  costs  of  construction  he  is 
58 


IRRIGATION 

able  to  decide  whether  it  will  be  better  to  use 
the  siphons  mentioned  before  in  this  article, 
or  whether  to  tunnel  or  bridge  in  overcoming 
the  natural  difficulties  in  transmission. 

The  financial  end  of  an  irrigation  system, 
in  which  land  is  bought  at  a  low  value  and  im- 
proved in  order  to  be  sold  at  a  considerable  in- 
crease, would  interest  the  promotor  and  the 
investor  as  far  as  the  financial  outcome  is  con- 
cerned, and  the  buyer  as  far  as  the  future  pro- 
ductivity of  the  land  in  question. 

In  an  improvement  of  this  kind  it  is  neces- 
essary  to  know  that  the  water  rights  have  been 
given  by  the  right  authorities.  Further,  they 
should  have  been  drawn  up  so  that  they  cover 
the  right  to  draw  away  water  from  the  water 
shed  in  question,  to  transmit  the  water  to  the 
place  where  it  is  used,  and  finally  to  make  use 
of  that  water  in  the  property  to  be  improved. 
The  title  of  the  irrigated  land  is  of  interest  to 
all  parties  concerned  and  must  be  to  the  satis- 
faction of  any  legal  authority  liable  to  investi- 
gate it  in  the  future.  A  prospective  buyer 
should  pay  the  greatest  attention  to  the  water 
contract  which  is  given  with  his  land  title.  He 
should  see  that  he  is  getting  water  at  a  reason- 
able price  and  must  be  careful  to  note  that 
that  rate  will  be  a  permanent  one  and  stated 
as  such  in  his  deed  of  sale.  If  the  method  of 

59 


IRRIGATION 

payment  for  water  is  in  the  nature  of  an  as- 
sessment it  would  be  advantageous  for  him  to 
know  whether  he  will  obtain  a  vote  on  any 
committee  which  would  fix  assessment  rates. 
In  any  case  he  should  guard  against  any  raise 
in  the  cost  of  his  water  in  the  future. 

It  is  of  interest  to  an  investor,  placing  his 
money  on  a  project  of  this  kind,  to  know  that 
the  stocks  or  bonds  issued  do  not  exceed  the 
cost  of  the  land  plus  the  engineer's  estimate 
of  the  cost  of  improvement.  A  slight  addition 
to  this,  however,  is  necessary  in  order  to  cover 
carrying  charges  for  selling  property  and  va- 
rious other  incidentals  not  included  in  the 
engineering  side. 

Transportation  facilities  near  at  hand  are 
of  the  utmost  importance  in  determining  the 
selling  value  of  this  property.  In  lands  in- 
tended for  farming,  good  transportation  con- 
sists generally  of  good  roads  in  the  immediate 
vicinity  and  a  railroad  or  boat  line  a  few  miles 
away  which  will  lead  directly  to  a  large  mar- 
ket. It  is  not  necessary  to  have  a  railroad  in 
the  immediate  vicinity  as  it  is  generally  under- 
stood that  farm  produce  would  be  loaded  into 
wagons  and  by  them  driven  to  the  nearest 
station  and  there  loaded  into  cars.  In  order 
to  do  this,  however,  good  roads  having  mini- 
mum grades  are  essential. 
60 


IRRIGATION 

All  parties  interested  are  also  governed  by 
the  nature  of  the  land  itself.  That  is,  it  is 
not  always  true  that  land  will  grow  farm 
produce  just  because  it  is  watered.  It  is  true, 
however,  that  practically  any  land  that  is 
not  too  full  of  stones  to  cultivate,  or  is  not 
formed  entirely  of  sand,  can  be  made  to  grow 
crops  according  to  the  latitude  and  climate 
in  which  the  property  is  situated.  Those  in- 
terested in  a  matter  of  this  kind  should  be 
cautioned  to  look  out  for  soils  of  an  unusual 
nature  which  may  contain  mineral  elements 
detrimental  to  the  growth  of  plants,  such  as 
too  much  salt. 

An  improvement  of  this  kind  has  an  ad- 
vantage that  may  not  be  necessarily  considered 
as  a  financial  gain,  but  should  influence  any 
parties  interested.  They  will  have  the  satis- 
faction of  knowing  that  a  system  of  this  kind 
is  one  of  actual  improvement.  That  is,  it 
takes  up  useless  land  and  transforms  it  into 
a  permanent  and  productive  part  of  the  sur- 
rounding country  which  will  add  to  the  gen- 
eral value  of  all  transportation  and  industrial 
projects  in  that  vicinity. 


61 


Bridges  and  Viaducts 

BRIDGES  and  viaducts  are  terms 
which  are  very  often  misapplied. 
A  viaduct  is  generally  considered  as 
a  kind  of  bridge  which  is  unusually 
long  and  composed  of  a  great  number  of 
spans,  each  span  being  considered  as  that  part 
of  a  bridge  between  any  two  piers.  In  addi- 
tion, any  bridge  of  any  length  for  the  purpose 
of  carrying  street  traffic  or  an  aqueduct  for 
water,  and  which  may  have  some  claim  to 
architectural  beauty,  would  be  considered  as  a 
viaduct.  In  general  the  term  viaduct  is  ac- 
cepted as  meaning  a  bridge  which  can  be 
considered  a  feat  in  architecture.  This  mean- 
ing has  since  been  broadened  to  include  a 
structure  of  any  great  length  and  composed  of 
a  number  of  small  bridges  or  spans  as  was 
stated  before.  This  would  leave  to  be  classed 
as  a  bridge  the  various  kinds  of  railroad  and 
highway  structures  of  medium  size  which  have 
been  erected  solely  for  a  commercial  use  and 
having  very  little  attention  paid  to  its  archi- 
tectural side. 

Bridges  and  viaducts  can  be  divided  into 
three  classes  according  to  the  kind  of  material 
63 


BRIDGES  AND  VIADUCTS 

used  in  their  construction.  These  classes  are 
steel,  reinforced  concrete,  and  timber  bridges. 
In  the  discussion  following,  the  word  bridge 
will  be  used  to  include  both  bridges  and  via- 
ducts in  their  various  forms.  The  judgment 
of  an  engineer  is  important,  first  of  all  in 
the  choice  of  materials  used,  secondly  in  the 
choice  of  form  in  which  the  bridge  will  be 
built,  and  finally  in  the  economical  design  of 
the  bridge  that  will  be  finally  constructed. 

The  various  forms  in  use  at  present  and 
which  are  subject  to  the  choice  of  the  engineer 
in  his  design,  are  suspension,  lift  or  swing 
bridges,  cantilever,  arch,  and  what  is  known 
as  a  simple  bridge.  The  distinctive  points 
governing  the  various  forms  stated  above, 
would  be  helpful  in  assisting  any  one  to  under- 
stand how  the  judgment  of  an  engineer  guides 
him  in  his  choice  of  type  to  be  used.  The 
suspension  bridge  has  two  uprights  which  are 
usually  called  towers,  from  which  are  sus- 
pended cables  or  chains  that  in  turn  hold  up 
the  bridge.  In  other  words,  the  word  suspen- 
sion itself  explains  the  method  of  support 
used  in  this  type.  The  cantilever  system  is 
based  on  the  principal  of  a  rigid  arm  held  so 
firmly  at  one  end  that  it  will  support  the  re- 
quired load  resting  on  the  outer  end.  This  is 
brought  out  in  actual  practice  by  having  one 
64 


BRIDGES   AND  VIADUCTS 

part  of  the  bridge  rigid  enough  to  hold  in 
place  that  part  considered  as  the  cantilever, 
which  is  the  part  jutting  out  beyond  the  pier 
and  unsupported  at  the  outer  end.  An  arch 
type  bridge  supports  itself  by  the  well-known 
principle  of  an  arch.  Any  weight  placed  on 
the  top  will  be  carried  to  the  end  by  a  ring 
of  material  known  as  the  arch  itself,  and  which 
is  usually  in  the  form  of  a  vertical  circle  or 
ellipse.  This  form  of  bridge  has  the  tendency 
to  push  apart  the  piers  at  each  end.  A  bridge 
of  the  simple  type  acts  in  the  same  way  as 
any  beam  which  may  be  placed  on  two  sup- 
ports with  the  weight  in  the  middle.  This  is 
the  commonest  form  of  bridge  in  use  for  short 
spans. 

If  a  railroad  should  approach  any  navigable 
river,  the  banks  of  which  are  low  and  would 
not  permit  a  crossing  at  any  considerable 
height,  it  would  be  found  necessary  to  leave  a 
portion  of  that  bridge  so  that  it  may  be  opened 
for  traffic  on  the  river.  This  is  accomplished 
by  several  different  forms  of  lift  or  swing 
bridges.  One  form  is  similar  to  a  structure 
swinging  around  on  a  pivot.  Another  form 
is  what  is  known  in  the  profession  as  a 
"bascule"  bridge.  This  type  lifts  up  at  one 
end  until  when  open  it  will  be  in  an  almost 
vertical  position.  There  is  another  class  that 
65 


BRIDGES   AND  VIADUCTS 


has  come  into  favor  which  is  formed  by  slid- 
ing a  portion  of  the  bridge  in  question  along 
an  oblique  direction  with  respect  to  the  water 
course.  In  general  these  types  of  bridges  can 
be  classed  among  the  most  difficult  of  any 
form  and  must  be  fabricated  with  the  greatest 
skill  and  accuracy  in  order  to  ensure  a  perfect 
fit  when  closed. 

The  choice  between  these  six  general  types 
of  bridge  construction  is  generally  made  in 
accordance  with  the  natural  features  encoun- 
tered, due  attention  being  paid,  of  course,  to 
the  harmony  between  the  bridge  itself  and  its 
environs.  An  important  point  which  governs 
the  choice  of  type  is  rigidity  of  foundation. 
The  arch  type  makes  it  necessary  that  they 
should  be  stiff  under  the  varying  conditions  of 
traffic.  Further,  swing  or  lift  bridges  should 
be  erected  on  rigid  foundations  because  of  the 
fact  that  when  closed  they  must  fit  tight,  and 
any  variation  such  as  would  not  be  noticeable 
in  some  classes  of  bridges  would  have  a  seri- 
ous effect  in  this  case. 

Steel  bridges  are  expensive  to  make,  or  to 
use  the  professional  term,  to  fabricate.  This 
fabrication  itself  is  carried  on  in  the  bridge 
shops.  It  consists  of  taking  the  various  shapes 
rolled  by  the  steel  mills  and  riveting  them  to- 
gether to  form  the  various  members  or  parts 

66 


BRIDGES   AND   VIADUCTS 

that  compose  a  bridge.  These  parts  are  then 
temporarily  put  together  in  order  to  make  sure 
that  they  will  fit  in  place  when  the  structure 
is  actually  being  erected.  The  work  in  the 
shops  is  carried  on  as  far  as  possible  as  it  is 
more  economical  to  do  that  class  of  work  in 
a  shop  than  out  on  the  field.  All  sections  are, 
therefore,  made  as  large  as  can  be  conveniently 
transported  and  erected. 

When  a  bridge  is  short  it  is  often  possible 
to  make  all  of  it  in  two  or  three  pieces  and 
obtain  the  greatest  economy  in  erection.  All 
girder  bridges  are  made  in  this  way,  even 
though  the  span  may  be  as  long  as  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty  feet.  The  erection  of  the 
bridge  itself  after  these  sections  have  been 
brought  to  the  site,  usually  takes  a  short  time 
if  they  are  in  only  a  few  pieces. 

A  long  bridge,  however,  may  take  as  much 
as  a  year  or  two  to  erect,  due  in  part  to  the 
fact  that  there  must  be  some  means  of  sup- 
port during  erection,  before  the  bridge  is  able 
to  support  itself.  A  common  method  of  erect- 
ing a  very  long  bridge  is  to  erect  a  temporary 
wooden  one  that  is  strong  enough  to  hold  the 
weight  of  the  permanent  structure  to  be*  placed 
on  top  of  it.  When  the  final  steel  work  is  all 
built  up  the  wooden  parts  are  taken  down  and 
carried  away.  Two  types  of  bridge,  namely, 
67 


BRIDGES   AND  VIADUCTS 


suspension  and  cantilever,  admit  of  erection 
without  any  wooden  supports.  These  systems 
are  generally  in  use  when  the  bottom  under 
any  structure  will  not  admit  of  any  false  work. 
False  work  is  the  professional  name  for  a  tem- 
porary structure  generally  of  wood  which  is 
intended  to  support  a  permanent  bridge  only 
during  its  erection.  It  may  happen  that  the 
structure  in  question  may  be  so  high  above 
the  bottom  of  a  valley  that  it  would  be  im- 
practical to  build  the  false  work  to  such  a 
great  height.  One  case  when  its  use  may  be 
impractical  is  when  the  bridge  in  question 
would  span  a  stream  which  must  be  kept  open 
for  water  traffic  during  erection  and  which 
may  be  so  deep  that  the  foundation  for  this 
false  work  would  be  too  expensive.  It  must 
be  remembered  in  any  case  that  to  compare 
the  cost  of  one  bridge  with  another,  they 
must  be  of  the  same  length  and  under  the 
same  general  conditions. 

Unfortunately,  steel  bridges  as  a  rule  lack 
beauty.  Usually  a  railway  bridge  crossing  a 
stream  in  the  country  can  be  remembered  by 
its  ugliness  more  than  by  any  other  thing. 
There  are  a  few  exceptions  to  this  where  a 
bridge  is  intended  for  street  traffic  near  a  city. 
One  exception  which  stands  out  by  itself  Is 
the  bridge  over  the  Harlem  River  in  New 

68 


BRIDGES   AND  VIADUCTS 

York  City,  called  the  Washington  Bridge. 
This  bridge  is  a  steel  arch  supporting  a  ma- 
sonry superstructure. 

A  reinforced  concrete  bridge  is  adaptable 
to  a  design  of  great  beauty.  The  fact  that 
concrete  can  be  made  into  any  shape  desired 
and  can  afterwards  be  finished  to  a  smooth 
white  surface,  makes  it  possible  to  class  rein- 
forced concrete  bridges  among  structures  hav- 
ing the  greatest  architectural  possibilities. 
This  fact  places  this  kind  of  material  as  the 
best  for  use  in  parks,  highways,  and  large 
estates.  Another  point  which  makes  the  use 
of  reinforced  concrete  advisable,  is  the  fact 
that  the  older  the  structure  is  the  stronger 
will  be  the  concrete  itself.  It  is  known  that 
concrete  will  steadily  increase  in  strength  for 
at  least  five  years  and  will  never  deteriorate 
except  under  the  influence  of  the  strongest 
chemical  action.  Unfortunately,  bridges  of 
reinforced  concrete  have  not  been  made,  up  to 
the  present  date,  of  any  great  length.  About 
four  hundred  feet  is  still  considered  a  safe 
limit  for  any  one  span.  As  the  facts  govern- 
ing the  action  of  reinforced  concrete  gradu- 
ally become  more  and  more  known,  this  pres- 
ent length  of  span  is  almost  certain  to  become 
increased.  The  transportation  cost  of  the 
material,  for  this  kind  of  material  is  exception- 
69 


BRIDGES   AND   VIADUCTS 


ally  low,  due  chiefly  to  the  fact  that  it  can 
be  transported  in  the  most  convenient  sizes 
and  weights. 

The  cost  of  erection,  however,  is  usually 
high  for  a  long  span.  A  concrete  bridge  needs 
a  more  stable  support  during  erection  than  one 
of  steel.  Further,  this  support  must  remain 
steadily  in  place  during  the  time  which  it 
takes  concrete  to  harden.  It  must  be  remem- 
bered that  when  concrete  is  ready  to  be  placed 
in  position  it  is  in  a  semi-liquid  state,  and 
must,  therefore,  be  enclosed  in  watertight 
boxes  and  left  undisturbed  until  it  hardens. 
This  increases  the  cost  of  erection  and  is  the 
only  objectionable  feature  to  concrete  bridges. 

It  often  happens,  especially  in  railroad 
work,  that  a  temporary  bridge  is  required 
which  must  not  only  be  inexpensive,  but  must 
be  quickly  put  in  place.  For  a  case  of  this 
kind  an  engineer  would  invariably  suggest 
one  made  of  wood.  The  low  cost  of  a  wooden 
bridge  makes  it  attractive  to  a  railroad  pass- 
ing through  an  untried  section  of  the  country, 
where  the  earnings  would  not  justify  any 
great  outlay  in  construction.  This  would  apply 
especially  to  a  railroad  leading  to  a  mine 
which  could  not  be  considered  permanent. 

The  value  of  the  speed  of  erection  is  best 
appreciated  in  cases  of  emergency.  Any  per- 

70 


BRIDGES   AND   VIADUCTS 

manent  structure  that  has  been  disabled  can 
most  quickly  be  replaced  by  timber  work.  Any 
railroad  which  has  had  its  traffic  held  up  by 
an  accident  happening  to  one  of  its  bridges, 
would  readily  appreciate  the  importance  of  a 
quick  substitution  of  the  previous  one,  and 
the  consequent  resumption  of  its  old  schedule. 
Unfortunately,  a  bridge  of  timber  can  not 
be  considered  permanent  in  the  sense  that 
it  will  last  twenty  or  thirty  years.  At  best 
its  life  is  much  shorter,  but  can  be  prolonged 
by  careful  painting  and  by  keeping  its  traffic 
within  well  defined  limits. 

A  type  of  viaduct  has  been  in  use  for  some 
years  which  is  a  combination  of  a  steel  bridge 
and  a  concrete  bridge.  It  is  supported  by 
regular  columns  made  of  steel  and  consists  at 
the  top  of  reinforced  concrete  beams  and  floor- 
ing. This  has  been  used  with  great  success 
by  railroads  going  through  cities.  Its  chief 
advantage  is  the  fact  that  it  gives  a  solid 
floor  on  top  and  is  open  underneath.  A  solid 
floor  on  the  top  of  any  bridge  has  the  great 
advantage  that  railroad  tracks  or  platforms 
can  be  arranged  anywhere  at  will  and  can  be 
rearranged  again  at  any  time  later.  The  fact 
that  this  viaduct  would  be  supported  by  steel 
columns  instead  of  heavy  masonry  piers, 
would  permit  the  free  use  of  the  street  under- 


BRIDGES   AND  VIADUCTS 

neath.  It  has  an  advantage  over  a  structure 
composed  entirely  of  steel  in  the  fact  that  it 
gives  a  neat  appearance  due  to  the  concrete 
work  on  top  and  to  its  symmetry. 

It  can  be  seen  that  there  is  a  considerable 
variety  of  materials  and  types  from  which  to 
pick  a  bridge  most  suited  to  the  purpose  and 
surroundings  in  any  case  in  question.  An 
engineer  in  charge  of  work  of  this  nature 
would  select  the  type  most  suitable,  taking 
into  consideration  the  natural  features  en- 
countered, and  the  purpose  for  which  the 
bridge  is  intended.  Through  his  designs, 
based  on  his  previous  knowledge  gained  by 
actual  experience,  he  can  economize  in  the 
cost  and  yet  insure  absolute  safety. 

It  should  be  of  interest  to  every  citizen  who 
pays  taxes,  to  know  that  he  is  getting  the  best 
bridge  possible.  A  bridge  in  a  park  or  on 
a  highway  is  directly  used  by  him,  and  it  is 
to  his  own  interest  to  be  satisfied  that  a  just 
balance  has  been  struck  by  the  engineer  in 
charge,  between  the  natural  conditions  found, 
the  cost,  and  architectural  beauty.  It  will 
generally  prove  expedient  to  increase  the  first 
cost  of  a  bridge  to  be  erected  on  public  prop- 
erty such  as  in  parks  or  highways  in  order 
to  obtain  architectural  beauty.  It  is  obvious 
that  in  a  beautiful  park  or  street  having  many 
72 


BRIDGES   AND   VIADUCTS 


handsome  buildings  on  it  that  it  would  not 
be  advisable  to  produce  an  unharmonious 
effect  by  the  erection  of  an  ugly  bridge. 

Any  one  with  a  knowledge  of  railroads 
must  know  that  bridges  and  viaducts  enter 
strongly  into  their  economical  maintenance. 
Those  passing  through  cities  have  bridges 
over  the  various  streets,  and  those  traversing 
hilly  country  have  bridges  over  valleys  and 
streams  which  they  may  encounter.  These 
structures  can  be  considered  the  greatest  sin- 
gle item  which  enters  in  the  actual  construc- 
tion of  a  railroad.  It  is  evident  then  that 
they  are  of  the  greatest  importance  to  a 
railroad  man  on  account  of  their  effect  on  the 
general  economy  of  any  system. 


73 


Miscellaneous  Steel  and 

Reinforced  Concrete  Structures 

Except  Bridges  and  Viaducts 

THIS  chapter  is  intended  to  cover  the 
various  structures  made  of  either 
structural  steel  or  reinforced  con- 
crete  that   would   not   cover    any 
great  amount  of  space  in  pointing  out  the  es- 
sential facts  which  govern  their  financial  value. 
In  any  of  the  following  subjects  the  various 
kinds  of  steel  used  are  subject  to  the  choice 
of  the  engineer  in  charge.     As  a  whole  they 
would  be  considered  under  the  general  and 
broad  classification  of  structural  steel. 

The  first  structure  or  class  of  structures 
to  come  under  consideration  is  steel  buildings. 
It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  primary 
objects  in  using  steel  in  the  construction  of  a 
building  is  either  to  make  it  fireproof  or  to 
increase  its  height  to  make  the  rental  space 
consistent  with  the  cost  of  the  real  estate 
upon  which  the  building  is  to  be  erected.  The 
chief  value  of  using  steel  buildings  is  the  fact 
of  its  great  supporting  strength  in  proportion 
to  the  size  of  a  column  used.  Formerly  eight 

75 


MISCELLANEOUS   STRUCTURES 

stories  has  been  the  practical  limit  of  any  build- 
ing made  of  bricks  or  stone,  because  in  order  to 
support  the  great  weight  at  the  top  the  walls 
at  the  bottom  floor  would  be  so  thick  as  to 
use  up  all  the  space  to  be  rented.  There  is 
at  present  a  steel  building  in  New  York  City 
with  a  total  height  of  fifty-one  stories,  the 
largest  column  of  which  is  under  three  feet 
square  at  the  bottom. 

Any  steel  building  is  usually  designed  by 
an  engineer  and  an  architect  working  in  har- 
mony with  each  other.  The  work  done  by 
an  engineer  would  include  all  steel  work.  That 
is,  the  modern  skyscraper  is  the  product  of 
the  combination  of  the  brains  and  skill  of 
both  professions.  In  discussing  a  topic  of  this 
kind  it  would  be  well  to  give  a  general  idea 
of  the  manner  in  which  an  engineer  would 
approach  a  contract  of  this  kind.  He  would 
at  first  draw  up  the  plans  of  the  steel  work 
while  acting  in  conjunction  with  an  architect. 
From  these  designs  the  cost  of  the  work  as 
completed  would  be  derived  and  an  estimate 
given  of  the  financial  outcome  in  an  under- 
taking of  this  kind. 

The  construction  of  the  steel  part  of  any 
building  is  done  as  far  as  possible  in  steel  shops. 
The  various  columns  and  girders  and  beams 
are  riveted  together  and  made  ready  for  put- 

7* 


MISCELLANEOUS   STRUCTURES 

ting  together  in  the  field.  The  primary  object 
to  be  attained  would  be  to  do  as  little  work 
in  the  field  as  possible.  The  use  of  steel  in 
buildings  has  become  so  common  that  there 
are  several  specially  rolled  shapes  which  are 
in  use  for  that  purpose  only.  In  almost  every 
case  the  work  of  the  engineer  includes  only 
the  design  and  inspection  of  the  steel  frame. 
A  property  owner  that  would  be  interested 
in  the  erection  of  a  building  on  his  land,  should 
be  influenced  by  several  facts.  In  general  it 
would  not  pay  him  to  erect  a  tall  building 
on  property  of  small  value.  The  primary  idea 
of  a  high  building,  as  has  been  stated  before, 
is  to  make  up  for  the  high  price  of  real  estate 
in  congested  districts  by  increasing  the  rent- 
able area  due  to  the  height  of  the  structure 
erected.  The  height  to  be  attained  by  any 
building  should  be  established  by  taking  into 
consideration  the  price  of  the  real  estate  to 
be  used ;  the  engineer  and  architect's  estimate 
of  the  cost,  as  well  as  their  estimate  of  the 
amount  of  rentable  area.  By  using  the  rental 
rate  per  square  foot  in  the  vicinity  an  esti- 
mate can  be  made  on  the  probable  earnings 
of  the  building,  taking  into  account,  of  course, 
the  fact  that  a  new  one  can  usually  command 
a  higher  rental  than  those  surrounding  it.  It 
is  pertinent  to  add  here  that  steel  alone  is 

77 


MISCELLANEOUS    STRUCTURES 

not  considered  fireproof.  It  must  in  every 
case  be  covered  by  a  thin  layer  of  concrete 
or  some  other  fireproof  material. 

It  would  be  of  interest  to  any  one  consider- 
ing the  erection  of  a  reinforced  concrete 
structure  to  know  why  reinforcement  is  used 
in  concrete.  It  has  been  proved  by  actual 
experiment  that  concrete  can  not  be  made  to 
withstand  any  force  in  tension.  By  force  in 
tension  is  meant  a  tendency  to  be  pulled  apart. 
That  is,  concrete  is  able  to  hold  up  heavy 
weights  tending  to  crush  it  together,  but  will 
easily  break  when  pulled  apart.  It  has  been 
found  that  steel  bars  imbedded  in  this  material 
can  be  made  to  take  up  this  tension  if  placed 
in  a  correct  position  in  the  concrete.  Girders 
and  beams  of  reinforced  concrete  have  in  this 
way  been  able  to  give  entire  satisfaction. 

A  considerable  impetus  has  been  given 
lately  to  the  construction  of  reinforced  con- 
crete buildings.  They  have  the  advantage 
over  other  types  in  that  they  are  absolutely 
permanent  and  fireproof,  and  for  small  build- 
ings are  cheaper  than  steel  work  that  would 
reach  the  same  degree  of  resistance  to  fire. 
Similarly  to  steel  buildings  the  design  and 
superintendence  of  construction  of  a  rein- 
forced concrete  building  would  be  under  the 
charge  of  an  architect  and  an  engineer. 
78 


MISCELLANEOUS    STRUCTURES 

The  engineer  would  have  under  his  con- 
sideration its  strength  and  all  arrangements 
that  would  be  influenced  by  the  industrial 
work  for  which  this  building  would  be  in- 
tended. He  would  also  have  charge  of  the 
actual  placing  of  the  concrete  and  of  the  rein- 
forcement as  placed  in  it.  The  position  which 
the  reinforcement  takes  in  each  particular  part 
of  a  concrete  structure  is  of  the  greatest  im- 
portance. Further,  it  is  necessary  to  have  a 
conscientious  inspection  while  under  erection 
in  order  to  see  that  the  concrete  itself  is  put 
in  the  building  in  the  right  manner.  Proper 
inspection  of  any  reinforced  concrete  struc- 
ture is  absolutely  essential  in  obtaining  the 
maximum  amount  of  strength  consistent  with 
the  material  placed  in  it 

It  has  become  a  custom  also,  due  to  an  engi- 
neer's knowledge  of  the  strength  and  proper- 
ties of  steel,  for  him  to  specify  the  kind  of 
steel  used  as  well  as  the  type  of  reinforce- 
ment system  to  be  put  in  that  building  itself. 
The  owner  of  a  structure  of  this  kind  would 
be  chiefly  interested  in  the  advantages  ob- 
tained in  any  class  of  material  used.  It  has 
the  advantages  that  have  been  mentioned  be- 
fore, of  being  absolutely  fireproof  and  dur- 
able. 

79 


MISCELLANEOUS   STRUCTURES 

The  ideal  situation  for  a  building  of  this 
type  is  in  the  country,  where  land  is  inexpen- 
sive, and  which  will  permit  a  low  building 
covering  a  large  area.  The  fact  that  concrete 
and  the  reinforcement  used  in  it  can  be 
shipped  in  convenient  sizes  makes  it  possible 
to  save  in  the  transportation  charges  from 
the  point  of  shipment.  Not  only  that,  but 
the  fact  that  it  is  fireproof  is  of  greater  ad- 
vantage in  the  country  than  in  the  city,  where 
modern  fire-fighting  apparatus  is  in  use.  Fac- 
tories and  industrial  plants  for  all  purposes, 
when  made  of  reinforced  concrete  have  given 
excellent  results. 

There  is  a  class  of  reinforced  concrete  struc- 
tures which  cannot  be  considered  as  an  engi- 
neering property  in  itself,  but  would  be  used 
in  connection  with  one,  and  will,  therefore, 
come  under  this  heading.  Concrete  re- 
taining walls  and  piers  have  been  in  use 
for  a  considerable  number  of  years  and 
have  given  excellent  satisfaction.  They  have 
the  advantage  that  all  concrete  structures  have, 
in  that  the  materials  used  can  be  transported 
in  any  sizes  or  weights  that  may  be  convenient. 
Furthermore,  it  has  been  found  less  expensive 
to  use  concrete  in  the  foundations,  and  espe- 
cially so  at  the  point  where  the  foundations 
actually  touch  the  rock  upon  which  it  rests. 
80 


MISCELLANEOUS   STRUCTURES 

Concrete  can  be  considered  at  its  best  in  all 
foundations  resting  upon  any  solid  material. 
This  advantage  is  gained  chiefly  through  the 
fact  that  it  will  flow  into  and  fill  every  crevice 
in  the  rough  surface  upon  which  it  lays,  and  in 
doing  so,  it  will  distribute  evenly  over  its  sur- 
face any  pressure  which  has  been  placed  up- 
on it. 

Reinforced  concrete  has  been  put,  within 
the  last  few  years,  to  another  use,  and  has 
proved  to  be  successful.  This  use  is  in  small 
reservoirs.  It  has  been  found  to  be  advan- 
tageous in  the  floors  and  walls  of  a  great 
many  reservoirs  for  both  pure  water  and 
chemicals  used  in  industrial  plants.  One 
strong  point  in  favor  of  concrete  is  the  fact 
that  very  few  chemicals  can  have  any  ef- 
fect upon  it.  Steel  has  been  found  to 
be  useless  in  the  presence  of  acids.  Formerly 
various  alloys  of  copper  have  been  used  in  con- 
nection with  chemical  plants,  but  have  been 
found  to  be  very  expensive.  Reinforced  con- 
crete has  now  taken  its  place  in  reservoir  con- 
struction of  this  kind  and  has  been  found  to  be 
more  economical  and  yet  give  the  same  results. 
It  would  be  pertinent  to  say  here,  that  it  has 
been  found  by  experiment  that  concrete  can  be 
made  watertight  and  even  under  a  considerable 
water  pressure. 

81 


MISCELLANEOUS    STRUCTURES 

A  further  use  of  steel  which  is  subject  to 
the  design  of  an  engineer,  is  roof  trusses.  Any 
industrial  plant  which  requires  an  open  floor 
space  of  any  considerable  width  or  length  in 
which  there  are  not  to  be  any  columns,  would 
require  roof  trusses  to  support  its  roof  over 
this  usually  large  space.  This  roof  would  have 
to  be  designed  in  accordance  with  the  formulas 
in  use  by  engineers  that  take  into  account  wind 
pressure  and  snow  pressure  as  well  as  the 
weight  of  the  roof  itself.  The  cost  of  a  roof 
truss  would  be  considerably  above  the  sup- 
porting system  of  a  roof  as  supported  by  the 
usual  method,  but  it  is  often  to  the  advantage 
of  an  owner  of  an  industrial  plant,  and  espe- 
cially so  in  an  exhibition  building,  to  have  a 
clear  space  of  large  area  which  does  not  con- 
tain any  columns  or  other  obstructions  due  to 
the  arrangement  of  the  building. 

An  important  use  of  steel  is  in  making  reser- 
voirs for  water  systems  of  various  descriptions. 
Steel  has  the  advantage  that  it  can  be  rolled 
into  plates  and  then  riveted  together.  It  also 
can  be  made  to  withstand  heavy  pressures. 
The  edges  of  these  plates  after  being  placed 
together  can  be  made  watertight.  A  customary 
method  of  making  a  reservoir  of  steel  would 
be  to  fabricate  it  in  as  large  sections  as  pos- 
sible and  to  set  up  the  whole  in  the  field  on  a 
82 


MISCELLANEOUS   STRUCTURES 

secure  concrete  foundation.  It  is  necessary, 
however,  that  pure  water  must  be  used.  Pres- 
sures considerably  in  excess  of  that  conveni- 
ently withstood  by  reinforced  concrete  can  be 
safely  used  with  steel.  In  general  a  high  pres- 
sure steel  reservoir  would  be  cheaper  than  a 
high  pressure  one  made  of  concrete. 

Conveying  machinery  in  all  its  different 
forms  is  an  important  use  for  structural  steel 
that  would  come  entirely  under  the  attention 
and  supervision  of  an  engineer.  An  owner  of 
an  industrial  plant  can  often  reduce  his  ex- 
penses considerably  by  adding  a  traveling  crane 
to  his  equipment.  They  are  made  now  so  that 
they  can  be  run  upon  tracks  overhead  and  can 
lift  any  reasonable  weight  and  convey  it  to  any 
spot  within  the  limits  in  which  the  crane  op- 
erates. Practically  all  of  the  machine  shops 
which  would  be  apt  to  handle  heavy  castings 
or  shafts,  sometimes  weighing  as  much  as 
twenty  tons,  would  be  equipped  with  this  class 
of  machinery.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that 
of  machinery.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  in 
ery,  that  the  power  required  for  a  crane  is 
already  on  hand.  They  are  made  to  be  run  by 
electricity  and  operated  by  a  single  operator. 
The  owner  of  any  industrial  plant  that  has  to 
handle  heavy  weights,  would  find  it  to  his  ad- 
vantage to  investigate  whether  it  would  pay  to 
install  an  apparatus  of  this  kind. 

83 


MISCELLANEOUS    STRUCTURES 

Another  class  of  handling  device  that  comes 
under  the  attention  of  an  engineer,  is  conveyor 
machinery  intended  to  convey  materials  such 
as  coal  and  ore  within  certain  limited  dis- 
tances. The  various  types  in  use  consist  of 
either  a  belt  of  some  kind  running  on  pulleys, 
or  an  endless  chain  of  buckets.  In  both  cases 
material  is  dumped  into  the  belt  or  buckets  and 
is  by  them  carried  to  the  other  end  of  the  ap- 
paratus and  dumped  off  there.  It  is  well  to 
add  that  the  horizontal  conveyor  is  simply 
known  as  a  conveyor  while  an  inclined  one 
which  carries  materials  from  a  lower  to  a 
greater  height,  is  known  as  an  elevator.  These 
two  can  be  arranged  in  such  a  way  that  almost 
any  desired  direction  can  be  obtained.  Any  in- 
dustrial plant  that  has  need  of  the  services  of 
a  great  many  men  carrying  small  weights  be- 
tween any  two  points,  can  find  it  profitable  to 
install  a  system  of  this  nature.  It  must  be  re- 
membered that  conveyors  have  been  brought 
up  to  such  a  state  of  usefulness  that  they  are 
now  made  to  handle  almost  any  kind  of  ma- 
terial. 

Still  another  class  of  conveying  machinery 
which  may  be  properly  placed  in  this  article  as 
it  comes  directly  under  the  charge  of  an  en- 
gineer, would  be  steel  towers  which  are  used 
for  unloading  boats  or  cars  of  their  cargo.  An 


MISCELLANEOUS   STRUCTURES 

instance  of  this  kind  is  in  common  practice  by 
a  great  many  power  companies  having  dock 
facilities.  They  erect  a  steel  tower  at  the  dock 
and  install  in  it  machinery  which  unloads  the 
coal.  This  same  tower  is  connected  by  a  bridge 
to  the  top  of  the  coal  bunkers  over  the  boilers 
and  coal  is  dumped  directly  into  these  bunkers 
without  any  extra  handling  whatever.  Ore  is 
loaded  or  unloaded  as  the  case  may  be  by  the 
use  of  conveying  systems  much  in  the  same 
manner  as  coal.  In  fact,  every  mine  or  ore 
handling  property  should  have  a  thorougly 
equipped  conveying  system  which  would  be  of 
the  greatest  value  in  reducing  maintenance 
costs. 

Telpherage  systems  or  aerial  cableways  have 
the  advantage  that  they  can  carry  considerable 
loads  over  the  top  of  any  obstacles  which  may 
be  on  the  ground.  They  have  the  further  ad- 
vantage in  the  fact  that  they  are  inexpensive 
when  it  is  considered  that  they  are  often  made 
to  carry  material  three  thousand  feet  or  more. 
An  illustration  of  this  kind  is  where  materials 
have  to  be  carried  over  a  wide  stream.  They 
have  been  found  useful  in  conveying  materials 
such  as  logs  or  ore  up  the  sides  of  mountains 
too  steep  for  railroad  building. 

Another  condition  in  which  aerial  cableways 
cculd  be  used  advantageously  is  where  there 
85 


MISCELLANEOUS    STRUCTURES 

must  be  some  method  of  transportation  in  an 
industrial  plant  in  which  the  materials  carried 
would  have  to  be  carried  through  streets  or 
yards  in  which  space  is  valuable.  Telpherage 
systems  in  this  case  can  be  of  advantage  by 
transporting  its  load  out  of  the  way  of  the 
work  going  on  underneath.  In  considering 
any  transportation  system  within  the  length  of 
reach  used  by  a  telpherage  system,  an  engineer 
would  consider  the  materials  to  be  handled  and 
place  his  decision  according  to  the  conditions 
found.  In  general  telpherage  systems  may  be 
considered  an  inexpensive  and  advantageous 
method  of  transporting  materials  within  a  re- 
stricted area. 

Another  use  of  steel  and  reinforced  concrete 
has  lately  come  under  the  attention  of  the  engi- 
neering profession  and  has  proved  itself  to  be 
entirely  practical.  In  many  of  the  larger  cities 
the  traffic  on  the  street  level  has  compelled 
traction  companies  who  wish  to  make  any 
speed  to  go  below  the  street  level.  This  makes 
necessary  a  strong  construction  to  hold  up  the 
roof  with  its  street  traffic  upon  it  and  keep 
the  sides  of  these  underground  railroads  from 
caving  in,  due  to  the  pressure  of  the  buildings 
along  side.  It  has  been  found  profitable  to 
use  reinforced  concrete  almost  entirely  in  the 
roof  and  sides  of  these  underground  railroads. 

86 


MISCELLANEOUS   STRUCTURES 

There  is  now  being  built  in  Brooklyn  and  on 
Lexington  Avenue  in  New  York  City,  two 
subways  which  are  constructed  entirely  of  re- 
inforced concrete  as  the  result  of  experience 
gained  by  an  underground  railway  in  that  same 
city.  It  was  found  necessary,  however,  to  use 
structural  steel  for  stations  where  the  roof 
would  be  unsupported  for  too  great  a  width 
to  allow  for  the  convenient  use  of  reinforced 
concrete.  The  design  and  estimate  upon  a  work 
of  this  kind  is  done  solely  by  engineers  and  is 
carried  out  by  them.  It  is  to  the  interest  of 
every  taxpayer  and  every  citizen  within  reach 
of  one  of  these  systems  to  know  that  that  work 
will  be  carried  out  successfully. 

There  are  many  other  uses  to  which  rein- 
forced concrete  and  structural  steel  have  been 
put  and  have  proved  their  worth.  They  are  in 
isolated  cases,  however,  and  will  not  be  con- 
sidered here.  It  is  sufficient  to  say,  therefore, 
that  each  of  these  engineering  properties  would 
be  considered  as  a  separate  problem  by  itself 
and  would  always  be  designed  with  the  proper 
regard  to  economy  and  results  obtained. 


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